Aquaphobia
by CupcakeSprinkles14
Summary: Vampires, Werewolves, Fairies, Warlocks. These are all the known Downworlders. Except, there's another. Alec had kept his secret very well over the years. but when he's forced to a party hosted by a downworlder, a certain warlock sees right through his fake façade, immediately curious and wanting to know more. Will Alec let him in, or just block him out, like everyone else?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So guys, I've been meaning to do a Malec fic for a while now and when this idea  
hit me, I just had to get it out there to see what you guys thought! :D  
Now guys, I'm only on City of Fallen Angels, so if you review, please don't give  
anything away from Fallen Angels and Lost Souls, okay? Thanks!**

**Disclaimer:**

**I don't own Magnus, nor Alec (as tragic as it is) or any other of Cassandra's  
characters. Nor do I own the mortal instruments.  
It sucks, I know.**

Aquaphobia

Chapter One

Vampires, Werewolves, Fairies, Warlocks.

These are all the known Downworlders.

Except, there's another.

Legends of half-human, half-fish creatures go back thousands of years. Everyone has seen pictures of mermaids. Sightings were made by the early Arabs and the Greek Pliny in 586 A . D. Many medieval sailors claimed to have seen them and such reports continued right into the 1900's. Most sightings by sailors were probably normal marine creatures, such as manatees, dugongs, or sea-cows (now extinct). These appear to cradle their young much as a human would carry a baby. It is possible that sailors, seeing these unfamiliar beasts, would assume that they had stumbled across some sort of humanoid species. Mermaids described by the famous explorer, Christopher Columbus, were almost certainly manatees. He reported seeing three mermaids in the ocean off Haiti, in January of 1493. He said they "came quite high out of the water", but were "not as pretty as they are depicted, for somehow in the face they look like men."

All sea-faring cultures have mermaid tales. In the Breton ballads there are the 'Morgan', sea-women, and 'Morverch', sea-daughters; in Ireland and Scotland there are 'Merrow'. The Aegean Sea, it seems, was full of such creatures. In Greek legends there are mermaids that can sink ships and sirens that lure sailors to their doom. In a silvery cave, live the golden haired Nereids or sea nymphs that helped sailors fighting perilous storms. They are depicted as human from the head to the waist, with either a bird's body or a fishes' tail. Other sea dwellers from Greek legend include the 3000 Oceanids, the daughters of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys.

Similar creatures live in lakes and rivers. In Slavic mythology there are the Rusalki, the spirits of young women who have met their fate through drowning. They appear in the form of beautiful fish-women or mermaids. They have lovely hair, fine features but sad fathomless eyes which tell their tragic tale. They entice young men, taking them to the river floor to live with them.

Of course, this had been hundreds of years ago. Things had changed since then.

As for the theory of evolution, the fairfolked mermaids of those times developed to adjust with their surroundings, especially to fit in to the rapidly modernizing world. As materials were developed to build towns and cities, rivers and oceans that had once been the habitat for these mermaids began to disspate, making way for the tarmaced roads and motorways to get from one place to another. Of course, one fault in these stories were the fact that there weren't just women, there were men as well.

Eventually, the mermaids evolved into the beings that surrounded them, abeit vampires or warlocks or fairies. Never werewolves though. Their bodies could not handle the strain of a change on the occasion of a full moon. The mermaids and mermen were cleverly disguised, blending in with the rest of the world, the only trait that exposed them being water. A single, innocent drop of water on the skin of a mermaid/man can transform them back to their aquamarine form. No matter where they are or what they're doing. Their gills would form and their tails would return. Most of the merfolk cloaked themselves with excuses such as the image of aquaphobia or pretending to be unable to swim.

The same as they adjusted into downworlders, the merfolk evolved into mundanes.

And Shadowhunters.

Maryse Lightwood had been a mermaid. With a long history of asphyxiation and hand sanitizers, she had spent a great deal of her life away from water. Not even her husband, Robert, knew of her merfolk history, as she stayed quiet about it. Most merfolk were ashamed of what they were, since no-one knew that such a form of downworlder even existed. By the time she had been inpregnanted with her son, most of the merfolk were extinct whether from dying of natural causes or being hunted down by wannabe believers. But the last thing she had wanted was to have passed down her mer-genes to her son.

She first discovered what he had become when she had first bathed him in their house in Idris. Little scales formed in the boy's neck as soon as the water touched his skin, his tiny baby legs morphing into a small emerald green tail. His fingers webbed together and his eyes narrowed into tiny fish slits. Maryse had been so horrified that she had fled to the New York Shadowhunter Institute with her infant boy and pregnant baby bump. She hadn't told Robert about her son's muttation. She stayed in New York until she gave birth to her daughter, Isabelle Lightwood, and left her children in the trusting arms of Hodge Starkweather to return to her husband because she was unable to face the turths of what she had done to her son. Luckily, Isabelle didn't have the traits of the merfolk. Because Maryse wouldn't have been able to handle the knowledge that she had poisoned two of her children with the horrifying genes of a mermaid.

When Alec first discovered what he was, he broke his collarbone.

Hodge had insisted upon his using hand sanitizers as a child and where Isabelle went for swimming training with their good friend Jace, Alec was told to stay at home and work on weapons training. Starkweather had made sure that Maryse's secret was well-hidden from his son. Right up until the day he died. After that, Alec had been old enough to look after himself. So, after a particularly difficult training session that had left him sweating and sticky, Alec had made the decision to take his first ever shower.

As soon as he jabbed the shower button to get the water pouring from the nozzle, and as soon as the first droplet of water hit his head, he'd dropped to the floor like a stone. He smacked the shower floor for a reason he wasn't sure of and cracked his collarbone. Isabelle had been the one to find him in that state. She had been just has stunned as he was. But she switched off the shower none-the-less, helped him dry off, before carving a healing rune into his neck. They'd spent the rest of the night researching what had happened in Hodge's old library, soon discovering the truth about their mother.

Of course, they never divulged the information to anyone. Not even Jace, who they shared the Institute with since Hodge was no longer with them.

Alec was content for things to stay that way.

"You coming to the party tonight?" Isabelle asked. Alec laughed-a dry and sarcastic sound-and watched his sister's spoon as she stirred the soup in the spot. Herself and Jace were attending a party tonight at some warlock's place. Isabelle noted her brother's incredulous expression and whined. "Aw, come on! You _have_ to come!"

Alec had a habit of staying in the Institute now-a-days, deciding that staying where it's driest would always be the best bet. When Isabelle brought him up on it, a thousand insane-but _not_ impossible-senarios would pour from his mouth: _What if this Warlock's apartment flooded? What if someone spilled their water and he stepped on it? What if there was a tsunami?_

"A tsunami?" Isabelle scoffed. "Really? That's your excuse? There might be a _tsunami?_"

Alec shrugged. "Could happen," he replied. "You don't know."

"You're insane," Isabelle concluded. "I doubt mom stayed indoors when she discovered what she was."

"We never knew our mom," Alec pointed out. Isabelle gave him a pointed look that made him want to jump off a cliff. "Okay, how about I keep a hold of the reins while you guys go out in case a demon shows up or something?" His little sister scoffed and ran the top of the wooden spoon under the tap. Alec watched the water bounce off it, small, glittering balls of crystal rebounding off, and splattering, the sides of the sink.

"No Alexander, you're coming with us," she said with finality. Alec winced at the use of his full name. There was literally _no_ getting out of this. With a laboured sigh, he nodded his head in submisson. Isabelle grinned. "Yay! I'm so proud of you!" She whipped around to hug him, the spoon pulling out from under the tap and sending droplets of water towards him. Alec ducked out of the way just as the aqua drops nearly touched him. "Holy Shit Alec, sorry!" Isabelle yelped.

Calming his beating heart-which had jerked into a frenzy from the panic of turing into a flailing fish on the kitchen floor-Alec shook his head. "It's fine," he said. "You missed me."

"Well, would have been quite the escapade," Isabelle mused. "Still, all we would have needed was my blow dryer, am I right King Trident?"

Alec groaned. "Don't call me that," he said.

"Call you what, Posiedon?"

"Oh, shut up."

~xXx~

Magnus Bane. The High Warlock of Brooklyn. How the hell did Isabelle get an invite to one of _his_ parties? Completely baffled, Alec followed his sister, his parabati and his parabati's girlfriend, to the warlock's apartment. He felt ridiculous, it was definetly the last time he let Isabelle dress him. The ankle boots she'd forced him into made clip-clop sounds against the tarmac, the little metal buckle attatched to the sides glinting in the moonlight.

They stopped at a set of steps leading up to an apartment door. While Isabelle buzzed this Magnus man's house buzzer, Alec tugged on his black skinny jeans, trying helplessly to make them cling less. Isabelle was hell bent on dressing him up to look as what she claimed as to be 'smokin' hot'. Well, if this is what it took to look good then he wasn't that interested in it. It was too much hard work.

While they waited for someone to answer the door, Clary-Jace's girlfriend-formed a huddle with Isabelle, both girls whispering and giggling. Jace himself was looking at Alec with an amused glint in his eyes. "Love the get-up," he said.

"Shut up," muttered Alec, adjusting his black waist coat irritabley. The little metal chain around his neck bumped against the buttons of his shirt, making a soft clinking sound. "I'm doing it for Izzy."

Jace nodded in faux understanding. "Oh yes, of course you are," he said. Jace himself just decided to come just dressed in his ordinary shadowhunting clothes which, of course, he pulled off without even trying.

"Jace, don't start," Clary said. She turned to Alec and smiled. "You look really nice Alec."

Alec made a small attempt at a smile. "Thanks," he replied briskly, turning his back on the door and trying to re-button the unbuttoned buttons that Isabelle had insisted added sex appeal. The boots were killing him, so he bent down and loosened the buckles. The right one got stuck so he tugged on it so hard he thought it was eventually going to break off.

"Well, I've seen it all now, a Shadowhunter defeated by some _buckles_," Jace said. Alec could practically hear the smirk in his tone and rolled his eyes, swearing under his breath as it refused to come loose.

"Need help?" Isabelle asked.

"No, I've got it," Alec quickly replied. Small indents were burning into the sides of his fingers where the metal dug into his skin when he pulled. It didn't hurt that much but it was making it harder to tug on. He was determined to get it loosened though, lest he stand up and give Jace the amusement of not having been able to loosen a smiple boot buckle.

"Well, that's new."

The new voice was smooth and silky, sending a chill down Alec's spine. He gave the buckle one last almighty tug and straightened up. He turned around to see Magnus Bane leaning causally in the doorway. Glitter dusted the warlock's cheeks and hair, blue eyeliner tracing his eyelids. His cat-like eyes were predatory and sent yet another shiver down Alec's spinal cord. His own eyes widened to find the warlock staring right at _him_ in particular.

"Open your door to find someone already bending over in front of you," the warlock mused, a smile breaking out on his face as the shadowhunter blushed. "Definitely something new." How must have that looked? Alec swallowed, his throat suddenly bone dry, and chewed the inside of his cheek in embarrassed horror. Well, at least he got his buckle loosened . . .

It was then he noticed that Jace and Clary and Isabelle were gone, already disappeared into the party. "Sorry," he murmered, his eyes drifting to the ground on instinct. He could feel Magnus' grin burning into the top of his head as he became fascinated in the concrete below his feet.

"I wasn't complaining," Magnus replied. Risking a glance up, Alec found the warlock's eyes still on him. There was something to the gaze though that he couldn't put his finger on, something deeper than your ordinary stare. Alec tried to pinpoint it but he just couldn't find what it was. It had turned into a warlock par shadowhunter stare down which Alec hadn't noticed until the clouds above their heads grumbled with thunder.

Thunder lead to a storm which lead to lightening which lead to rain which lead to water which lead to getting wet. The thought alone being terrifying in itself, Alec quickly weaved past Magnus in his doorway, murmering another apology before disappearing into the party where there was no rain to worry about. He immediately noticed Isabelle, Clary and Jace at the bar and sighed in relief, hurrying over to them and dropping onto a stool beside his sister.

"Where did you go?" Isabelle asked, holding a martini glass of pink liquid that was topped with frothy smoke.

"Nowhere," Alec replied a bit too quickly.

Clary was stirring some lime green concotion in a tall glass with a little orange umbrella. She brushed her bright red hair behind her ears. "When we slipped inside, Magnus seemed to be _pretty_ interested in watching you buckle your boots," she said. Jace snorted, picking up his glass and trying to hide his smirk by taking a drink from it.

Alec flushed, diverting his attention to trying to sort out his shirt buttons again. "I don't know what you're talking about," he muttered.

Isabelle nudged him, her smile bright enough to light up the entire room. "Magnus is hot, do you like him?"

"Pff, no," Alec replied. Isabelle opened her mouth to say something in response when Clary suddenly swore, patting down her pockets with a renewed haste. She grabbed Jace and pat him down as well, hoking in his pockets.

"Well, if I had of knew you were going to be this forward, I would have worn less layers," Jace commented as Clary spun him around and checked his back pockets.

"Damn it," she swore. "I left my purse back at the Insitiute."

"Wait," Alec said, "if you were looking for your purse, why are you checking _his_ pockets?"

Clary sighed, ignoring the question and threw her head onto the bar. "I'm such a moron. I can pratically _see_ it on your beside table Jace! Right, can we go back? All of us?"

"Why all of us?" Isabelle enquired, scooping the froth off the top of her drink with her pinky finger. "Can't you and Jace just go back?"

The redhead shook her head gravelly. "I do _want_ to come back you know."

Alec frowned, "What do you mean want to come back-oh, right." Jace was grinning like a chesire cat, unable to hide his glee in his girlfriend's implications.

Isabelle rolled her eyes and placed a hand on Clary's shoulder. "Oh sweetheart, we've all been there. Okay, we'll go back. Hopefully Magnus will let us back in after . . ." Alec's eyes drifted to the window, his heart sinking when he saw the glass being battered with rain.

"I'm going to stay here," he said.

Jace did a double take. "What? Are you hoping to pick up a fairy or something?" he asked.

"Ha ha," Alec replied dryly. "_No_, I just want to stay here."

"Will you be okay on your own?" Clary asked.

Isabelle looked out the window as well, her eyes widening in realization. "Oh," she said. "Oh, yeah, he'll be fine. He is the oldest after all. I'm almost 100% positive he can look after himself." Alec gave her a skeptical look.

"Almost?" he asked.

"98.9," replied Isabelle. She scruffed his hair with a grin before flouncing back out towards the door. Clary smiled at him and pecked his cheek before following his sister out the door. Jace just slapped his back before quickly joining Clary and Isabelle in the hasty retreat. Sighing, Alec turned back to the bar and took a look at what his sister had been drinking. It smelled funny but when he took a tiny sip of it, it didn't taste that bad. Like strawberries and cream in liquid form.

He kept careful not to spill anything or let any of the drink touch his skin. As long as it went directly into his mouth, he was alright. He had to keep hydrated somehow and he was lucky that he was able to let H20 into his mouth without turning . . . well . . . _scaly_. Alec hated himself when he was wet, that was why he never let himself near water at all. The scales, the gills, the webbed fingers . . . Alec shuddered at the thought. The last time he had turned, he had been eleven. Now he was eighteen and he had successfully avoided water. Which was an accomplishment since salt water oceans take up 71% of the earth and water in itself is 326 million trillion gallons on the entire planet. Alec wasn't an expert in math, but that was a _lot_ of water.

Deciding to go try and find a bathroom to refix his hair after Isabelle's ruffling, Alec pushed back from his seat and wove through the crowds of various downworlders to find the room. Alec didn't like to think of himself as one of them. Not that he hated them, of course not, he had no qualms towards downworlders and their lifestyles, it was just he didn't _feel_ like one of them. When not touched by water, he was as human as they came. Well, as human as they came when you're a seraph blade weilding, demon fighting, rune wearing, half mer-folk, shadowhunter human.

He pushed into the first room he stumbled upon, after being pinched by a rather handsy fey in a highly private area, and shut the door tight to give himself some space from the partygoers. He rubbed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger and sighed. He rubbed his eyes with his fists, blinking back the sleep in his eyes. Why was he so tired all of a sudden? Realizing that he wasn't in a bathroom at all, Alec sighed heavily at the bed pushed up against the back wall. Walking a path that didn't feel his own, he sat down on the edge of the bed and rubbed his eyes again.

He wasn't sure when he fell asleep, but he became aware of the fact he was lying on his back on the bed. His eyelids were heavy and all he really wanted was to go to sleep. He thought of going back to the institute, but the soft pitter patter of rain against the loft's roof indicated that option was impossible. Deciding to stay in the bedroom until it passed, Alec shut his eyes for what he had said to himself was only going to be five minutes . . .

Alec jolted awake a few hours later. The rain was still beating down, battering the loft's roof and windows. There were no signs of the party anymore, outside the bedroom being as silent as a synagouge. Cursing, Alec tried to sit up, only to find that there was something sitting ontop of him. Well, not a something, more like a someone.

"I was wondering when you were going to wake up," a voice purred through the darkness. "It's lovely to see those pretty blue eyes again." Alec blinked, his vision sharpening just enough to see the face of the person ontop of him. Cat like eyes, sparkling with glitter . . . Magnus Bane. Oh God, how was he going to explain falling asleep in one of his spare rooms? He opened his mouth to start explaining himself when something caught his eyes. Something Magnus was holding.

A tumbler of water. Moving in fluent circles, brushing the insides of the glass like waves crashing on the shore. Alec seized up at the sight of it, his eyes locked firmly on the liquid like the warlock was hanging a glass of acid over his head.

Magnus' happy expression read all different levels of trouble as he blew Alec a kiss before tipping the tumbler ever so slightly.

So a single drop of water fell out and splashed against the shadowhunter's forehead.

**A/N: Tell me what you think guys! I love feedback (as long as it's nice!)  
The idea of the water touching skin thing came from an old nickeloden programme I used to love called H2O just add water :)**

Remember what I said about spoilers! I don't want anything ruined! :D 

**Please R&R! **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you guys for the reviews! I'm planning on this to be a three chapter short story so there's only one more chapter left! I really enjoy writing Malec though so I'm very likely going to write another fic which will probably be much longer. **

**I do have an idea in the works, it's more canon and more like the books. If you're interested, I'll post a summary up on my profile. Just ask ;)**

**Disclaimer:**

**I don't own Magnus, Alec, the mortal instruments or merfolk.**

**It's all so tragic isn't it?**

**(P.S: No spoilers for Fallen Angels and Lost Souls in reviews please!)**

Chapter Two

Water. It felt so right. Like a missing part of him that he never thought was his. He was nearly completely immersed, the water lapping at his nose and tickling his eyelashes. It felt like he was lying in a box, a box full of water, and he couldn't move at all. His legs wouldn't respond to anything he told them to do and he hadn't reached the right plain of conciousness yet to realize why.

He could feel the water brushing his arms and the sides of his face, glueing the ends of his hair to his cheeks and temples. He kept his eyes shut, trying to think about the last thing he remembered before he passed out. Cat like eyes were engraved in the back of his head but he wasn't sure why. The fact that he was immersed in water still wasn't making an impression on him just yet. He remembered that he was supposed to be worried about water for some reason but it just felt so . . . _right,_ caressing his skin and making such worries just wash away. Literally.

Looking back to before he passed out, Alec could vaguely remember a hot, gripping feeling, as if he was drying up in the sun. He'd felt like he was choking on something rough, that his skin was withering away, like he was physically depleteing. That seemed so far away though, so distant that Alec could barely reach it. But even acknowledging that feeling was like his fingertips grazing the memory itself and it was enough to cause his eyes to flicker open.

A bathtub. He was in a bathtub.

He was slumped in it, his back pressed against the cool marble that dipped down into a slope then back up again. The tub was filled nearly to the top, the aqua lapping below his eyes. His eyes, he suddenly realized, which were showing him the reason he couldn't move. Because the serenity of the gentle swishing of the water and the amiable brushing of it against his skin had distracted him from the truth.

He was one of the mer-folk.

And he was in a bath full of water.

Having a tail was hard to describe. Because when he was dry, Alec would have no idea what it felt like to have a tail, it was just something he couldn't image. And yet now, lying in a tub full of water, he couldn't remember what it felt like to have _legs._ It felt like another part of him, abeit that he wasn't in a natural environment, just like when he'd slipped and broken his collar bone when he was eleven. Only now he was surrounded in it, almost completely underwater.

Specs of water glistened off his tail, the deep emerald green glittering in the artifical lights of the bathroom. The bath wasn't a very large bath, so as he sat slumped in the water, the end of his tail hung over the edge, the tips of his feathery fins metres from the floor. He raised his hand out of the thin skin of water that had settled around him, watching as it rippled in protest, panning into rapidly growing circles as it dissipated out. Alec turned his nose up at the webbed fingers, disgusted in the thin parchments of skin that linked the appendages together. The water clung to his hand like a second skin, shining in the light and glistening like silk.

God, he was ugly.

"A Domino, quae pulchra es, oculis caeruleis parum."

Alec's eyes snapped up in shock, his hand splashing back into the water in horror. Magnus was watching him carefully, his feline eyes taking in every inch of his aqua form. Alec recognized the language, it was Latin, but his mind was in too much of a tizzy to try and figure out what the warlock had said. Right now he was more keen on getting out of the bath and dried up to get back to normal ASAP.

All these thoughts having passed through his brain in a split second, Alec's tail flicked nervously as he pushed himself up, sending waves of water over the edges of the bath. Cold air prickled the gills at his neck and he gasped, trying to use all the strength he could summon to pull himself out, which admittedly, wasn't going very well.

"Iuvenem remisit liquorem puram, Im 'non iens ut noceat te," Magnus purred, his voice soft and soothing. His tone made Alec feel weak and his arms gave out a moment later, his body crashing back into the water. It lapped back up at his neck and it felt so good that Alec had to take a moment to recollect himself, squeezing his eyes shut and concentrating on his breathing.

"What do you want?" he finally managed to say.

"Oh, I don't think it's that I want anything in particular," the warlock said. "It's just been hundreds of years since I've seen one of _you_ before." His eyes trailed over the boy's tail, which flicked nervously under the scrutiny.

"A shadowhunter?" Alec asked feebly.

Magnus grinned. "Oh, you're a sweet one," he said. "What's your name?"

"Does it matter?"

"It does to me."

Alec hesitated. "Alexander Lightwood," he answered. "But most people call me Alec. And, not to be rude, but how the hell did you know I'm a . . ." He trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. Magnus tapped his chin as if in deep thought, pretending to help think of an answer to the shadowhunter's question.

"Well, darling, you did make it a bit obvious." Noticing the boy's startled expression, Magnus changed tactics. "You made it obvious for someone who was alive long enough to have witnessed your ancestors in their prime to see and understand what you are." The warlock took a step towards the bath, noticing with a tad of childish glee how the shadowhunter shrank back, insecure. His hands had the edges of the bath in a death grip, the pointed white nails scratching along the marble. "Like your trouble with your boot buckles. You fumbled with them because your first instinct is to have these rather magnificent webbed hands." Alec stiffened when the warlock ran his knuckle along the top of his hand, which was still clenching the bath for dear life. "Might I add, those boots were very stylish, a bit too stylish from what I know of shadowhunters."

"The buckle was stuck," he muttered, his eyes focused on the water and it's smooth movements around the tub. "It had nothing to do with my hands." But not that the warlock had mentioned it, hundreds of clumsy fumbles came to mind with his hands being the main thing at fault. Isabelle used to call him Awkward Annie because he used to drop everything.

"Then when the thunder started, your reaction was perfect," Magnus said. "And sticking around in my room until the rain passed? It was so obvious it was almost heartbreaking."

Alec found himself glaring at the water, his slitted eyes narrowing in irritation. When in this form, his irises would vanish and his entire eye would be taken up with the blue that used to be there, with small black slits as pupils. It didn't affect his sight too badly, in fact sometimes he wondered if it made it better, but it wasn't a particularly nice way for his eyes to be. "Well, I wasn't going to go outside," he muttered.

"As you shouldn't," replied Magnus, his thumb tracing circles on the top of Alec's hand. "It's still raining."

_Still?_ Alec was definitely adding never-ending rain to his list of excuses for Isabelle. "What is it you want exactly? Last I recall, you dropped water on my forehead in your bedroom. Now I'm in a bloody bath, actually, _trapped_ in a bloody bath might I add."

The warlock smiled, his fingers softly stroking the web between the shadowhunter's fingers. It was actually quite soothing, relaxing his clenching hands, but Alec would never admit it. "You almost dried up, sweet pea," he said. "I had to get you into water quickly so I could examine you properly."

"Oh, so you couldn't have just let me turn back and talked to me about it rationally?" Alec replied acidly. "And what do you mean examine me properly?!"

"I haven't seen one of your kind in hundreds of years," Magnus answered, his hand idly dipping into the water to stroke the merman's arm. "And even then I have never seen one so divine before. And here's me thinking you all smelt of seaweed." Alec blinked, his eyes flicking up to the warlock in surprise. Mangus' smile was like a spell, trying to smooth down your frayed nerves until you're completely calm again. The warlock took his chin between his thumb and forefinger, pulling his face closer to his. "My, my, you have amazing eyes. The blue is absoloutely exquiste."

Alec blinked again, trying to remember what his eyes did look like, unsure of whether Magnus was trying to calm him with flattery or if he was being sincere. He guessed it was probably the former since the blue of his eyes was just blue. Blue was blue like red was red and green was green. Nothing special or extraordinary about it.

"You have no idea how many downworlders there are out there looking for creatures like you. What they'd say, do or pay to have you is quite shocking," Magnus said, staring deeply into the boy's eyes. "When you're told something's extinct, you immediately go out looking for it. Which is to say that there are quite a few mer-hunters out there. Except they don't know how to read the signs like I do."

"So that's it, you want to sell me off," Alec said.

Magnus laughed. "Why would I do that?" he purred. "I found you first."

"Oh, so now I'm a charity of finders keepers, losers weepers?" he replied.

"I'd say so," Magnus said, letting the hand that had been gripping his chin trail back into Alec's silky hair. The shadowhunter recoiled back, his lip curling up to reveal a set of rather impressive canines. A hiss bubbled at the back of his throat and his tail flickered angrily over the edge of the tub. Magnus didn't even flinch at the reaction, instead his eyes gleamed with mischief.

"I've never bitten anyone before but there's a first time for everything," Alec growled, his claw like finger nails digging into the marble and making it crack.

"Oh, dear, do calm down," Magnus said soothingly. He prised Alec's hand away from the bath, attempting to pull the nails out of the marble. "You're ruining my bath." As his nails pulled out of marble, Alec hissed and lurched forward, with the intent to bite the warlock so he could get out of the water and dry off.

Water splashed out of the sides of the tub and Alec thought about maybe sinking his teeth in the jugular but, as desperate as he was to get away, he refused to kill an innocent. Not that it mattered anyway. As soon as he got close enough to do any damage, a ring-fingered hand grabbed his throat and held him back. It was lucky he had gills just above his collar bone or he'd probably have choked.

"You're a fiesty one aren't you?" purred Magnus, his face now so close that his lips brushed against his skin. Alec's breathing was heavy, no air coming out of his mouth and his gills struggling to keep up. His tail thrashed frantically, causing more and more water to splash out of the tub. "I like that." Alec shivered and bared his teeth-like a vampire, ironically-hissing like a snake on drugs.

"Fuck you," he snapped at him.

"Oooh, with a dirty mouth, this just keeps getting better and better."

Then Alec surprised himself by slapping Magnus across the cheek-bitch slap style. "You're insufferable. I know that and I've only been here ten minutes. Now dry me off!" The warlock was finding everything incredibly amusing, his face showing no signs of the almighty whack it just recieved. "I am not a pet and I refuse to be treated like one!"

"You'd be a fabulous pet," replied Magnus.

Alec gritted his teeth together and clenched his jaw. "It's like talking to a brick wall," he muttered. "Let me dry off."

"Why should I?"

"Because I want to dry off!"

"What if I don't want you to dry off?"

"It's really not your choice!"

Magnus sighed and loosened his hold on Alec's throat. The shadowhunter's tail still flicked in anxiety. Something caught his eye, a mark on the boy's arm. "Is that a rune?" he asked. Alec watched where he was looking and frowned. There was the remainder of a balance rune on his bicep.

"Yes, why?" he asked.

"You can't mark downworlders," Magnus said, almost to himself. He took Alec's arm and exmained the fading rune carefully. "I thought the shadowhunter thing was just a fake facade to hide your true identity or something" Alec laid a webbed hand on Magnus' own and used it to take his hand off his arm.

"No. My mom-the mermaid-was a shadowhunter as well. I've been raised a shadowhunter, and I have the same abilities they do. I'm not a merman, I haven't changed since I was eleven. It's been seven years since I touched water and then _you_ come along and do _this._"

"Seven years," Magnus mused. "Such a sin. Someone as beautiful as you shouldn't be hiding."

"Yes, well, thanks for the sentiment," Alec snapped. "But I really don't need it. Now help me out before I thrash until all the water is on the _floor_." Magnus smirked and suddenly he was pulling him out of the bath. Alec yelped, his tail and fins sliding through the water as he was pulled over the edge. He was still dripping wet, beads of water rolling between his shoulder blades and down the sides of his face. Magnus set him down on the edge of the bath to sit there while he fetched a towel.

"I'm going to fall," Alec muttered, gripping the tub and curving his tail to one side so his fins clung to the bottom of the bath. Water dripped off the ends of his hair and beaded off his eyelashes, sliding down his cheeks like tears. Magnus returned a moment later, a dark purple bath towel in his hands. He knelt down in front of Alec and used his thumbs to wipe the dripping water off his face.

"What do you need dried before you change back?" he asked.

"Just give me the towel and I'll do it," Alec replied, trying to take it from the warlock.

"Ah-ah," Magnus said, holding it out of his reach. "I do it, or you stay like this." Alec narrowed his eyes into a glare. To make his point clear, he folded his arms and slid back into the tub, his tail once again hanging out. "Oh, so this is how it's going to be, huh?"

"You're not touching me," Alec said, puntuating the point with a flick of the tail.

Magnus quirked an eyebrow at him. "Oh really?" He reached out and gently placed his hand at the end of the tail, his palm sending a spread of warmth on the otherwise cold scales. He stroked Alec tenderly, grinning when the boy shut his eyes and suppressed a shiver. It felt, good, so good that Alec had to swallow a purr. Seriously, a _purr._ He couldn't believe it. He wasn't _Church _for angel's sake. To quickly save himself, he hit the warlock with his fins.

"Just dry my back already," he grumbled, hauling himself back out. Magnus couldn't look any happier, reaching behind Alec with the towel in his hand. The shadowhunter held his breath as their faces were inches apart. His body was pressed against the warlock's, his breath brushing his face and making his mind go fuzzy. Magnus rubbed his back gently, the material impossibly soft for a towel. Alec shut his eyes and sighed, already feeling himself turn back to normal.

"Where else?" Magnus purred into his ear.

"Uh . . ." Alec's mind blanked, his skin tingling pleasantly. "My-my arms." The towel ran up his arms slowly, almost torturously. He shook his head to try to clear it, his hair flopping into his eyes. "Okay, can you s-speed it up a l-little?"

"Why should I?" asked Magnus.

"Because you're going so slow I coud get away with reporting you for molestation," Alec replied. Magnus laughed and finished up drying him off. When he finished, he stood up and took a step back, where he paused for a moment. Alec perched on the edge of the bath, thankful to have both his legs back. He watched Magnus carefully, brushing his hair out of his eyes and frowning. "What's wrong?"

"Uh . . ." Magnus' eyes were trailing up and down him curiously, a soft smile curling onto his face. Alec frowned and looked down, horrified to find that he was naked. He gasped in horror, jerking backwards and slipping back into the bath. The water curled around him as if trying to pull him back underneath. It was a matter of moments before he was back to the way he'd been before. Completely embarrassed, he let himself slide under the water with his eyes shut, wishing to disappear. Having been about to shower the last time he'd turned, Alec had been completely unaware of the fact that he'd be naked when he turned back to normal.

Everything was so much better underwater, the lapping water serene and calming, the small bubbles that came from his mouth small and shining. He lay on the floor of the bath on his stomach, praying to the angel that Magnus would leave to spare him the embarressment. He kept his face in his crossed arms under the water. This wasn't happening, this wasn't happening, this _wasn't_ happening. He felt fingers lightly trace his fins and sighed. He peered up through the top of the water to see the warlock still there, his hands gently petting his fins in an attempt to comfort him.

"It's okay little shadowhunter," he said, his voice travelling through the water barrier easily, "it's not a sin to be shy." Alec groaned, a thousand bubbles following in the wake of the sound, and threw his head back into his arms. "I have seen many a nude form in my eight hundred years and I'm none too privy on the knowledge of how to respect it."

Alec raised his head out of the water only the slightest of bits, only so his eyes peered out. "You've got to be joking," he said.

"What's there to joke about?"

Alec sighed and rolled his eyes. "Where are my clothes?" he asked.

"Uh . . ."

"You do know where my clothes are right?"

Magnus chuckled. "Yeah, I was just messing with you." He dipped his hand into the water and stirred it up, his fingertips grazing the scales of his tail. "Your clothes are in my room."

"Did you know that was going to happen?" Alec asked.

Magnus shrugged. "Maybe." Alec narrowed his eyes. What exactly was this guy's angle? He just couldn't figure it out, and he was normally good at that sort of thing. "Dry yourself off and use the towel to cover yourself. I'll get your clothes." Magnus dropped a glittery wink at him and left the room. Doing as he was told, Alec slithered out of the bath, dried off his arms and back _again_, and quickly wrapped the towel around his waist. He had never been so wholly horrified before in his entire life.

Magnus was . . . definitely something else. His upfront and frankness about his sexuality was something Alec had never encountered before. He knew he was gay also, but had never been with anyone before. Isabelle had tried for many years to hook him up with someone but there had never been anyone . . . who left an impression. Well, Magnus definitely left one. He stamped his signature on him with his stupid cat eyes, stupid soothing touch and stupid knowledge about the mer-folk.

Alec exmained his hand carefully, the webs and sharp claws no longer there. His teeth were probably back to normal as well, his eyes no longer slitted either. He wondered how good a swimmer he might have been, if he tried to go swim in the ocean at the pier. Would he be good? Or would he just flounder under the water? He'd never swam before-for obvious reasons-and it made him strangely curious.

"Nice outfit," Magnus commented as he entered the bathroom again. He held Isabelle's outfit choice for her brother in one hand, while the other lounged comfortably on his hip. "I'd have expected all shadowhunters to have dressed like your blond friend was."

"My sister wanted me to dress in that," Alec replied sheepishly, his eyes unable to pull away from the glittering buckle on the boots. "She has incredible fashion sense."

"The dark haired girl with the mesh dress to die for?" Magnus asked. Alec nodded. "Ah, yes, she did look like a woman of great style. Especially compared to the redhead with the backpack."

"You mean Clary? She's not that bad."

Magnus smirked. "She was with the blond guy wasn't she?" He tilted his head. "The one who you're in love with."

_"What?"_ Alec squeaked. "Jace? I have no idea what you're talking about." Quickly trying to deflect the situation, he looked out the window. "Has the rain stopped? Can I go now?"

"So desperate to leave." Magnus shook his head, a smile ever present on his face. "And here's me thinking I was a brilliant host." He raised an eyebrow at Alec, who couldn't help but think about how attractive the gesture was. He ducked his gaze to hide his blush and scolded himself inside his head. "Yes, the rain has stopped, but there's still a couple of droplets dripping here and there."

"Do you have an umbrella?" Alec asked, taking his clothes off the warlock, who discently turned his back to left the shadowhunter change. The jeans took quite a lot of tugging to pull up because of the tightness of the jeans and his fingers fumbled with the buttons on the white shirt. "You at least owe me an umbrella." When he was fully changed again, he told Magnus he could turn back around.

"There's very likely an umbrella in the coatrack by the door. I mean, loads of people leave various things behind at the parties," Magnus explained. "Umbrellas very likely included."

"So I can take one?"

Magnus shrugged. "Won't bother me," he said.

"Okay, well, nice to meet you Mr. Bane . . . I guess." Alec scooted past the warlock before pausing with his hand on the doorknob. He turned back around. "You have to promise not to tell anyone about me."

"Why would I tell anyone about my little merman?" Magnus asked. There was an amused glint of mischeif in his eyes which made Alec glare at him. He made a noise of irritation at the back of his throat and fiddled with the chain around his neck, avoiding eye contact. "I'd rather keep this little secret between us."

"Oh, well, thanks," muttered Alec, turning around and twisting the door knob. Something grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. He gasped as he was pushed backwards into the door. Magnus planted both his hands at either side of Alec's head and pressed his body against the shadowhunter's. Alec's breath caught in his throat, his heart beating rapidly.

"One more thing," the warlock murmered. And then he was kissng him. Alec gasped in shock, his mind fuzzy as he tried to think of anything other than the soft lips pressed against his. It was almost like he was drowning (no pun intended) and found himself leaning into the older male's body, overwhelmed with want. He'd never kissed anyone-Jace used to refer to him as a blushing virgin-and he had no experience with how it worked. Magnus didn't seem to mind though, his hands framing his face and his teeth nibbling on his bottom lip.

"Magnus," Alec finally managed to whisper, his mind clouded with desire . Magnus grinned before pressing his body harder against Alec's and whispering in his ear,

"You can swim in my pool anytime you want."

Before he even had time to blush or respond, the warlock had clicked his fingers, blue electirc sparks spurting from his fingertips. And suddenly Alec was standing outside, sheltered in the ledge covering Magnus' front door. A yellow umbrella lay by his feet. Completely dazed, Alec shook his head and snatched it up, opening it below the shelter and holding it above his head before he stepped out.

His encounter with Magnus had made him curious about things he had never been curious about before:

The water. It was everywhere, pooling on the ground and coating the pavement. Ever since he'd dried off, Alec felt like he was missing something, a giant part of himself. His boots sloshed through the puddles, carefully as to not let any of it splatter his skin. It was lucky he'd taken the umbrella, as drops fell from the sky and hit the canary material with soft thumps. He felt a need to feel enpowered again, a want to find the nearest place where he could be wet in peace.

Alec was also confused about what had happened with Magnus in that last minute in the bathroom. He liked to think that the small form of pleasure that he'd felt when their lips were pressed together was just a virginal blunder. Maybe it was . . .

Magnus Bane was certainly an enigma.

And, as soon as Alec got home, he took a bath.

**A/N: A show of hands, how many of us would like to swim in Magnus' pool? **

**Let me know what you think! Of this chapter and whether you'd be interested in hearing my new idea as well ;)**

**Please R&R! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So I got told by a reviewer that I should make this longer and, after careful thinking, I've decided that that's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to make this into a full story with a proper plot and everything. Yay!**

**OMJ who's seen the TMI: City of Bones movie yet? I loved it! The malec moments made my cousin and I scream in the cinema! Everyone else thought we were demented. I can't wait for City of Ashes to be made!**

**I couldn't resist putting one of Magnus' lines from the movie in this. It's one of my favourite parts of the film! Can you guys spot it?**

**Disclaimer:**

**I don't own the Mortal Instruments or Alec or Magnus or any of  
Cassie's characters, sadly.**

**You can mention stuff from City of Fallen Angels now because I've finished it but please no Lost Souls spoilers in reviews! Thank you! :)**

Chapter Three

"What's brought this on?" Isabelle asked. She stood behind her brother as he sat cross-legged on the sofa in the library, watching the rain as it drizzled down the glass window pane. The weather in New York had been horrible for the past couple of days, literally raining from the heavens. Alec had become infactuated with the water ever since his encounter with Magnus.

"What's brought what on?" Alec asked back, his eyes fixated on the rain.

Isabelle waved her arms around. "_This!_ Your eyes are blank! What the hell is up with you? All your life you've been afraid of water and now you're obsessed with it! What exactly happened when you stayed the night at Magnus'?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "Did something happen between you two?"

Alec's heart skipped a beat and he turned his head towards his sister. "No," he said quickly. "Some of his guests sometimes stay over and . . . I was one of them because it was still raining"

Knowing when her brother was lying from a mile off, Isabelle folded her arms and sat down beside him. "You know it's okay if something did happen," she said gently. "Alec, I know you're afraid. Afraid of your . . . of yourself really, but that doesn't mean you should sit here and wallow, watching the rain. I'd be very happy if you had some fun at the party. In fact, I'd be proud."

"Sorry to disappoint then."

With a sign of irriation, Isabelle crossed one leg over the other, the material of her suede boots brushing against each other's. "_Alec,_" her voice was bordering on little sister growl. The type of tone she used to use when she was trying to get her big brother to reveal his secrets when they were children. "You took a bath the other day. A _bath._ If you can't see why that spikes my worry then there's defnitely something wrong."

Alec shrugged almost mindlessly. "I just fancied a bath."

"Fancied a . . . _a bath_?!" Isabelle exclaimed. "Alec, you haven't bathed since you were eleven!"

"And?" Alec asked. "Maybe I wanted to see if I'd changed." He remembered his green tail hanging over the edge of Magnus' bath, his webbed fingers and sharp teeth . . . he shuddered to think of it. He looked away from his sister and gazed back out the window. "I haven't." Isabelle, her face melting into that of sympathy, sighed and placed a concerned hand on his shoulder.

"I don't think you're going to," she said. "Mom was a mermaid . . . you have her genes, it's who your are. It's like us losing our shadowhunter blood as we grow older. It's impossible, and if it was it's certainly not going to happen any time soon. What happened at Magnus' that made you . . . fancy a bath to check your . . . uh . . . _aqua qualities?_"

"It was nothing to do with Magnus," Alec said sharply. Isabelle quirked an eyebrow and rested her elbows on the back cushions of the sofa. She didn't believe it for a second, but decided it best not to pursue it. "Isabelle . . . can I ask you something?"

Isabelle was examining her nails when he asked this. She looked at him with her bright green eyes and nodded. "Sure, now you can ask me something else," she said.

"What does _a Domino, is es, caudam oculis caeruleis unum angelum pisces pulcherrima_ mean?" he asked. Alec had taken what Magnus had said in the bathroom, researched many phrases, and found this as a seperate version of what the warlock had said.

Isabelle looked confused. "It means _by the lord, it is present art thou, an angel with blue eyes and the tail of the most beautiful of fish,_" she said. "Why?" Her eyes widened. "Did someone say it to you? But I'm the only one who knows of your tail."

Alec shook his head. "Doesn't matter," he said quietly. That wasn't what he'd expected it to have meant at all. The rain was getting heavier, relentlessly battering the window, and Alec felt a twinge deep his gut, as if his body was begging him to go out and get soaked. His fingers tightened on the cushions around him to anchor him down. Isabelle, giving up on her prodding, sighed and adjusted her pendant so it rested on her collar bone.

"We have to go back to Magnus'," she said.

Alec barely flinched to try to hide his surprise. "Why?" he asked, keeping his tone neutral and flat to not made his sister's curiousity return.

"It turns out he put a block in Clary's mind," Isabelle replied. "Jace and her went to the Bone City today to see what her mother wanted to hide and it turns out her mother got Magnus to block her mind every few years. So we're going back to find out why."

"A block?" Alec asked.

"Yeah, hiding certain memories." Isabelle picked her nails nochalantly. "Probably something to do with the Mortal Cup."

That's right. Alec had been so wrapped up in his own problems that he'd completely forgotten that Clary's mother had hidden the Mortal Cup from Valentine Morgenstern. Jace and Clary had a clear relationship but neither were very open about it, but Jace had obviously wanted to be there to take her to the Bone City to the Silent Brothers so they could look inside her mind.

Clary . . . it wasn't that he hated her but she got on his nerves. Jace barely knew her and yet they were inseperable. Alec felt like an idiot, mostly for taking the _parabati_ rune too seriously. Sure, it connected them together, but more in a brotherly way than the way that Alec sometimes hoped for. It was ridiculous to feel that way about him anyway . . . Jace had been his adopted brother ever since they were kids.

"How do they know it was Magnus?" he asked, distracting himself.

Isabelle shrugged. "His mark was all over the job," she said. "Like his personal stamp so if anyone else wanted to have his services, they'd know where to look."

"I won't be able to go if this rain doesn't stop," Alec pointed out.

"It's supposed to stop later," Isabelle replied, dashing Alec's hopes of staying behind and not having to go to Magnus' apartment again. Who knows what would then happen . . . But as well as the feeling of destroyed hope, Alec also felt a twinge of excitement, and his mouth twitched in a smile that he fought to quell.

~xXx~

"You look much more comfortable."

Alec tugged on his belt, adjusting his weapons. Shadowhunters hid weapons everywhere. There were numerous secret pockets and holsters in their jackets, jeans and boots. Since on official business, Alec and Jace were all dressed in their gear, which made Alec feel much more comfortable than he had with what his sister-who ironically was dressed in a dress with make-up and glittered hair- had forced him into the last time. Which Clary had just blantantly pointed out.

"Thanks," he replied curtly, ignoring Isabelle's glare at his brush off of Clary's comment. Just the girl's voice sometimes got on his nerves, just because he sees the way Jace looks at her when she's not looking at him. A look of love and longing . . . a look he wished to be on the recieving end of for once . . .

"So, this Magnus guy is some big shot then?" Clary asked Jace as they headed back up the path they had taken a couple of nights ago to get to the apartment.

"Well, the High Warlock of Brooklyn is a pretty big title," Jace replied. "If I were him I'd milk it for all I was worth. 'How dare you sir, I'm the High Warlock of Brooklyn, I demand to get these doughnuts for free!'" Clary rolled her eyes and hit his arm. "Okay, okay, coffee too."

"Somehow, I don't think that's how Magnus uses his title," Isabelle said as they climbed up the steps to his apartment.

Alec took a wave of deja vu as he stood under the shelter, flung back to a few days previous when he stood in the exact same place, canary yellow umbrella in hand, after having the most mad experience of his life. As Jace pressed the buzzer by the door, Alec started fidgeting with his straps and belts, the metal on his combat boots clinking together as he shifted his weight from one foot to another.

"He has another party tonight, but it's exclusive so we mightn't get in," his sister said.

"How many parties does he have?" Clary asked. "One every night?"

"Every other night," Jace shrugged. "If you want to attend a wild party, you attend five Magnus Bane parties in a row and see how wasted you can get. Some of the drinks he has in there are-" he blew a raspberry-"some pretty strong stuff." His finger stayed on the buzzer, the sound lingering through the air irritabley as they waited.

"Jace once ended up snogging a fairie because he drank too much frutilla liquir. It was quite amusing," Isabelle said, hitting Jace's arm so he let go of the buzzer. Alec's eye twitched at the memory, his fingers' grip on his belt loops tightening until his knuckles turned white. He remembered that night very clearly. He ended up having to carry Jace home because he was so blitzed.

"Hey, I was actually trying to get that fairie to go out with Alec," Jace said, making Alec's eyes widen in shock.

"Why did you think I'd be interested in a fairie?" he spluttered.

Jace shrugged. "You're always so grumpy," he said. "I thought a fairie might have loosened you up a bit." Alec opened his mouth to reply when the door was suddenly flung open and Magnus appeared in the doorway. The light streaming in from behind him made the glitter on his hair and skin sparkle. Alec found himself staring at his boots, his heart pounding in a frenzy he couldn't understand.

"I don't remember inviting Nephilim tonight," his silky voice stated. Alec shivered.

"We're here on business," Jace said. "Official business."

Magnus' cat like eyes sparkled. "Quite a few of my guests tonight aren't very fond on the company of shadowhunters," he said. "But you can stay, because of the hot one."

"Thanks," Jace and Isabelle said at once, Clary standing between them not saying a word.

Magnus smirked in amusement. "Not you," he said, raising his hand to point over Clary's head, "Him, with the blue eyes." Alec glanced up in surprise, his eyes locking with Magnus' instantiously. Isabelle was looking at him as well, a clear smile bored into her face. Jace looked slightly confused, as if he couldn't understand the concept of someone not being attracted to him, but Alec barely noticed as his heart nearly exploded from beating so fast.

"Okay," Clary finally said, breaking the trance. "I need to talk to you Mr. Bane."

"Ah, Miss Fray," Magnus said, finally tearing his gaze away from Alec, giving the shadowhunter a moment to collect himself and fight the blush he felt rising in his cheeks, "I've been expecting you."

"You _have?_" Clary exclaimed.

"Come in." Magnus stepped aside to let the others in, the smirk never leaving his face as they all piled inside. "Clary, come with me. The rest of you, try not to get into any trouble while I'm gone."

"Us? Get into trouble?" Jace scoffed. "You've got the wrong guys on that one."

"You do realize that sarcasm is the lowest form of defensive mechanism," Magnus pointed out, laying a hand on the small of Clary's back and guiding her off into a priviate room. "Just something to think about." As the door shut behind them, Isabelle was biting back a smirk, an attempt that wasn't going very well at all.

"Wow Jace, would you like some ice for that burn?" she asked as they headed up the stairs, where the party was obviously going on.

"Shut up Iz," Jace muttered. Alec was speechless: no-one ever burned Jace. He always had something to say back. Well, until now . . .

The party had the same atmosphere as the one they attended before. Only with twice as many downworlders. Alec could pick them out even from a distance. Vampires, Werewolves, Fairies, a Warlock or two . . . the place was full of them. It was hard not to be on the edge, waiting for one of them to attack. It was shadowhunter instinct to be on alert for attack, especially in a downworlder full environment.

"I need a drink," Isabelle declared, flouncing off in the direction of the bar. "Do you guys want anything?"

Jace followed after her and after a moment's pause, Alec also followed. As he was weaving through the crowd, someone pinched him. He jumped in shock and spun around just to catch a fairie man melting back into the crowd. Damn fairies. When he finally reached the bar, Isabelle was laughing.

"Oh my god!" she cackled. "Did you see that Jace?" She took in her brother's slightly stunned expression and pouted. "Take it as a compliment. That fairie was hot. You could do worse."

"I think a 'hello, my name is' would have been nicer," Alec muttered, resting his cheek in his hand and slamming his elbow onto the top of the bar. Jace didn't seem to be paying attention to either of them, his eyes were locked on the front door, where Magnus would very likely return with Clary once they were finished talking. His dedication to the girl he barely knew was astounding. So astounding it rubbed Alec up the wrong way.

"I was right about Magnus though," Isabelle said, downing her glass of vodka as soon as it was placed in front of her. "He does like you. You're a lucky man Lightwood."

Alec flushed. "I doubt he likes me that much," he muttered, ignoring the memory of the kiss in the bathroom that sprung to mind. Isabelle snorted in amusement.

"You're the only reason he let us in!" she laughed.

Just then, Clary and Magnus returned. As soon as he saw her, Jace bolted off, by her side almost immediately, taking her elbow and pulling her off to the side. Sighing, Alec pushed away from the bar and took a step back. Isabelle's eyes widened in horror and she yelped, "Alec look out!" As he stepped back, a vampire bumped into his back. It would have been comical if it hadn't of been for the fact that the downworlder's drink splashed against him.

Isabelle leapt forward, grabbing his jacket and yanking it off him before any of the liquid touched him. Alec's heart had dropped and picked up into rapid beating for the second time that night and he clutched his chest in shock from the fear of getting wet. Izzy held his jacket at a distance from herself, inspecting the back of it, where the drink was slowly dripping down. She ran a finger through the liquid and brought it to her lips, dabbing her tongue in it.

"Fresa concoct," she concluded. Alec frowned in confusion but she pushed up on her tiptoes and whispered, "No H2O, it's purely alcohol and strawberries." She handed his jacket back to him with a sigh of relief. "That was close."

"This is why I should stay in the Insitute," Alec hissed in reply.

"You're not a recluse," Isabelle hissed back. "It was just a small mishap. Stop being so prudish."

"Over what?! What would have happened if that _did_ have H2O in it and it splashed my skin? I would be a _fish_ right now, in the middle of a party Izzy!"

"But it didn't. That's what if thinking," Isabelle said. "You're not supposed to think like that. What ifs don't exist. There was no H2O, you're okay." Alec clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes a her, but she just smiled brightly at him and playfully punched his arm. "Now, come on, I'll buy you a drink."

"A drink?" Alec scoffed. "No thanks, I'm good."

"Does wittle Awec want some owange juice?" Isabelle asked in a tone that their little brother Max sometimes used when he wanted something but had to play the innocent act to get it.

"Actually, wittle Awec wants to go home but Awec's even wittler sister won't let him," he replied, agitated.

Isabelle scowled. "You really need a boyfriend," she muttered.

"Ssssh!" he hissed. "Someone might hear you!"

"Who? Like a potential partner?" Isabelle asked. "Someone who might be interested in you? Like Magnus or the guy who pinched you?"

Alec fought the urge to hit her upside the head. It made him nervous when Isabelle spoke so openly about his sexuality. It was easy for her, she wasn't the one who was at risk of being tossed out of the Clave just because she wasn't like everyone else. He had spent years building up these walls to hide who he really was and he didn't need her giving it all away just because she was speaking too loud. Especially with Jace at such close range.

"Neither," he replied. It was obvious that Magnus knew about him; how he didn't know. It was like the warlock could see right through his walls as if they were transparent, right into his soul where his secrets lay.

"If I were a surgeon," Isabelle said, "I would open you up, find that part in your heart that's so closed off and find a way to open it. Because it's heartbreaking Alec. It really is. I know you're holding out for . . ." she glanced uneasily at Jace, who was still talking to Clary, "but you can't shut out others who might like you. I mean, you've attracted the attention of the High Warlock of _Brooklyn_, that doesn't happen to just anyone."

"And what? I should try to get him because of his title?" Alec asked. He knew this wasn't what his sister had meant but he couldn't stop himself from asking. The question made him sound bitter but he didn't care.

"_No._ I mean because he's hot, holds awesome parties, and is a downworlder like . . ." _Like you._ He could see the words of her lips, even though she didn't say them. Isabelle sighed and pretended to adjust her whip around her wrist. "What I mean is, if you ever did date him and got serious, then maybe he'd understand when you eventually had to tell him what you are."

Alec fought the urge to say that Magnus already knew what he was just because his damn boot buckles gave him up. He looked down at the thick leather combat boots he had on right that moment. There was a zip up the side, the buckles were just something Isabelle had attatched on one evening as an accessory when she was going through her fashion desginer phase. Now that Alec thought about it, none of his shoes really needed buckles. As if there was a part of his concious brain that somehow knew he'd struggle with them.

Isabelle flicked her hair behind her shoulder, her head moving to the side with the movement, and a smile spread across her face. "I'm going to go to the bathroom," she said. "Wait here for me." Alec watched as she hastily melted into the crowd and vanished. He'd only just turned back to the bar when Magnus appeared beside him, almost out of thin air.

"That was a close shave just then," he said, his voice as smooth as velvet and sending a shudder through Alec's spine. "With the vampire, I mean."

"Yeah, well, apparently vampires drink fresa concoct," Alec replied. He'd almost immediately started drawing runes of the top of the bar with his fingertips to distract himself from the attractive Warlock standing beside him. "No H2O." He frowned, suddenly remembering something Magnus had said when he was trapped in the bathroom. _Especially compared to the redhead with the backpack._ "Why didn't you say you knew Clary?"

Magnus shrugged. "I was also sworn to secrey by Jocelyn. And we warlocks take our promises just as seriously as you shadowhunters. She made me make an oath in Lilth's name."

"Lilth?"

"The Mother of Warlocks."

"I see."

Alec felt Magnus' eyes burning into him and his fingers sped up, drawing runes faster and faster. Currently, he wore a speed, agility and angelic rune just in case of an attack. Isabelle did them for him and he did hers. Normally Jace would have helped but-_no_ stop it. Don't think of Jace. It's not worth the strain.

"I love the get-up," Magnus said after a moment's pause. It was this comment that made Alec turn his head to have a look at what the Warlock himself was wearing. A red velvet blazer, tight leather pants and a white shirt that wasn't buttoned up, exposing a strip of chest and stomach. Blushing, he looked away. He could practically _feel_ Magnus' grin burning into the side of his face as he stared at the top of the bar.

"Thanks," he said quickly. "It's my shadowhunter gear."

"I gathered," Magnus replied. "How can you bear wearing so many layers?"

"They conceal weapons," Alec answered. He'd never really considered how many layers he wore. Tonight he had on a black tank top, over-layed with a thick leather waistcoat type jacket that had multiple pockets for knifes and blades, and a leather jacket with pockets lining the inside. Not to mention the black denim jeans and sturdy combat boots that he kept his stele in.

Magnus' feline eyes fell on the hilt of a knife that was sticking out of the back pocket of Alec's black pants. "Kinky," he grinned, a low chuckle escaping him as Alec's hand went to the back of his pants to the knife hilt almost mindlessly. "I normally say to leave weapons outside, but I trust that you won't kill any of my guests."

"Unless nessecary," Alec contradicted. "And you can trust me not to kill anyone, but I'd watch Jace if I were you. He'd stab someone if they said they didn't like his hair if he was in the right frame of mind."

Magnus snorted. "Seems like the type," he muttered. He scanned Alec's profile in the dim light, watching as the strobe lights lit up his eyes in a way not even his magic could manage. "Can I talk to you in priviate for a moment?" he asked. Alec looked at him curiously before nodding, thinking it was probably something to do with the whole bathroom piasco. The warlock led him through the crowd to a door at the back. He entered first, disappearing into the room and waiting for Alec to follow.

It took a moment's hesitation before Alec did indeed follow him into the room. He shut the door and turned to ask Magnus what it was he wanted to talk to him about when said Warlock slammed him against the closed door, his lips pressing against his. It took Alec by surprise, his eyes widening in shock as his body was pinned so far up the door his feet nearly lifted off the floor.

The kiss felt so good, like everything you want it to be when you dream of it. Alec's world came to a grinding halt as all his mind could focus on was how amazing Magnus' lips felt against his. Slightly bewildered, he moaned, his arms winding around the Warlock's neck to pull him closer. All he could comprehend was that he wanted more. So, so much more. Magnus smiled against his mouth, his hand coming to rest of the back of his neck to tilt his head back. As he ran his tongue along Alec's bottom lip, it only took a second's pause before the shadowhunter opened his mouth.

Alec's world was spinning, no longer able to piece what was here and what was there. All he could think about was how Magnus' hands felt on his body as they slid down his back and pressed into the small of his back. Every brush, every press, every slide and caress felt like electricity burning through his layers of clothes to shock his skin. Magnus pulled back and smirked at the way Alec was a panting mess in his arms. He leaned forward so his lips rested just by the boy's ear.

"Do you know how hard it is to pretend that you don't want to drag someone into a room and kiss them senseless when said person's friends are standing right there?" he whispered, his breath tickling Alec's ear and making him shiver.

"Not really," Alec replied, his voice breathless and his chest heaving. Even when he thought of Jace in that way, he had never thought of him in such a primal and animalistic way. There wasn't really time for that sort of thing with their job. "But . . . I think I can guess."

Magnus pressed his forehead against Alec's temple and chuckled. "You don't know until your experience it," he said. "Never have I ever felt it so strongly before until I saw you at my party that day."

"And you thought trapping me in a bath was going to make me like you?" Alec replied haughtly.

"Pretty interesting first date," Magnus said in reponse. Alec scoffed.

"You call that a first date?" he asked in disbelief. Magnus pressed his body harder against Alec's, forcing him to spread his legs against the door so he stood between his thighs.

"Oh yeah," he purred, his hand curling around the shadowhunter's hip and runing his fingers up and down his outer thigh. Alec felt a shiver through his being and he fought to suppress it so that Magnus didn't feel it. He was trapped between a body and a door. It wasn't a bad trap, he supposed. It was the sort of trap you didn't mind getting caught in.

"So you don't care that I'm a . . ." Alec trailed off. He still couldn't say it. Like the way the name of God burned in a vampire's throat, he couldn't say the word 'merman' or 'mer-folk'. Magnus laughed and pressed a kiss against his plump lips.

"Of course not. It's part of yourself." He lowered his lips to Alec's mouth. "Your beautiful-" peck-"shy-" lingering kiss-"charming-" nipped bottom lip-"sexy self." Alec parted his lips to respond but that's when it happened.

When an ear-shattering scream split the air.

**A/N: I'm actually quite excited about this fic. I'm bristling with ideas for a full plot! :D **

**A big thank you to **_**you-and-I-we-have-the-stars **_**for encouraging me to write more! Thanks to all my reviewers for all your encouragement and support! :)**

**Please R&R! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Slightly shorter chapter guys, sorry. There's definitely going to be some heavy Malec the next chapter! :D**

**Discalimer: **

**I don't own Alec or Magnus :/  
Goddamn it . . .**

Chapter Four

Alec reacted almost immediately, pulling a seraph blade from the holster attatched to his belt loops and running out the door with Magnus in close follow. Isabelle was standing in the middle of the party, whip in hand, with Clary and Jace. "What happened?" Alec exclaimed as he approached her.

"Rogue Vamp," Jace replied, pulling his own blade out of the sheath on his back. "We have to go after it."

"Agreed," Isabelle said. Her whip sizzled with electricity in her hand, sparks flying from it in jerked flares. Clary stood there, clutching her backpack straps until her knuckles went white. "We need to get after it before it hurts or kills a mundane." Jace flew out the front door which prompted Clary to follow after him. Isabelle cracked her whip once, as if getting it was working right, before also exiting the party with great speed. Alec made a move to leave as well before remembering Magnus and spinning on his heel to face him.

"I'm sorry, I better go with them," he told him.

Magnus smirked. "It's alright sweetness," he purred. He snapped his fingers and a card appeared between them. He wrapped his arm around Alec's lower back and slowly slid the card into his back pocket. Alec flushed and squeaked when Magnus teasingly squeezed his backside before winking. "Call me," he purred. Nodding rapidly, Alec backed up and nearly tripped clumsily over a chair. He heard Magnus laugh and felt heat rising to his cheeks in embarrassment so he quickly bolted out the door before he made any more of a fool of himself than he already had.

Isabelle and Jace were at the bottom of the stairs waiting for him, Clary standing outside under the shelter. "Huh, there's no stars out tonight," the redhead commented as they quickly hurried down the steps and followed the trail of blood the rogue vampire had left behind. "How strange. You'd think you'd see them because there aren't that many streetlights around here."

"That means the clouds are heavy," Jace replied, "and are blocking the stars."

"What exactly happened?" Alec asked.

"You see, Jace was hitting on this vampire girl for some beknownst reason and she tried to bite him," Isabelle explained. "I think she wanted to turn him into one of them, you know? She'd bitten her wrist ready to feed it to you, Jace."

"Over attatched girls aren't really my thing," Jace replied.

They turned a corner out onto a main road. The tarmac was still wet from the rain that day and there were puddles dotted everywhere. Alec was thankful for the thickness of his boots who's sole was so bulked that it even added a couple of inches to his height, which meant no water was going to leak through. The bigger problem was the splash back of others stepping in puddles. Isabelle was careful, treading through the water in her heels without splashing anything, whereas Jace walked through them in his equally heavy boots without much abdandon. Clary and Isabelle was between the _parabatai_ boys though so any of the water that did spray from the blond's shoes didn't affect Alec in any way.

A taxi cab was parked by the sidewalk across the road, the blood trail winding it's way underneath the engine and out the other end. Isabelle craved a sight rune into her forearm, Jace and Alec doing the same. Clary, without an ability to see through the gloom, just rubbed her arms and squinted. With his senses sharpened and sight heighted, Alec could see the top of a head on the other side of the driver's window.

"Stay back Clary," Jace whispered. Clary nodded and stepped back onto the pavement behind her, shadowing herself in the darkness that hung over the over-hanging room of an old solicitor's building. Assured that she was safe, Jace ran soundlessly across the road, crouching below the window of the cab and creeping round. Alec went over too and knelt at the other end, ready to strike if the vamp tried to make a run for it. Isabelle took station in an alley way between two buildings in case the downworlder slipped between both Jace and Alec.

Jace was right behind the creature, seraph blade in hand and ready to strike when she all of a sudden made a run for it. Alec leapt over the trunk of the cab and rammed himself right into her, flooring her in a tackle that would make any rubgy player proud. The vampire lashed out, her claws scrabbing and scratching at his face as she struggled to get out of his grasp. She slapped his hand and sent his seraph blade skidding across the road. Jace jumped in to try to help but the vampire hissed at him and managed to wiggle enough out of Alec's hold to plant her foot in his chest and kick him backwards into the cab.

"Jace!" Clary yelled from across the road. Alec gritted his teeth and grabbed the vamp by the throat, pinning her to the sidewalk with all his strength. She continued to lash out, her sharp as knives nails opening up fresh cuts all over his skin as she thrashed and screamed. Alec could hear the clipping of Isabelle's heels against the tarmac and knew she was coming to use her whip to restrain the vamp. The vampire's eyes flew open and suddenly her movements still. She gazed at him wildly, her red eyes taking in every inch of his face.

_"Syreni,"_ she hissed at him. Alec frowned in confusion and tightened his grip on her throat to keep her pinned to the ground. A malicious grin spread across the vampire's face and her hand suddenly flew into a puddle by her head. Before he could react, she'd cupped her hand so water gathered in and had threw it at his face.

"Alec!" Isabelle screamed upon seeing the water splash off her brother's skin. Alec himself fell backwards as if the vampire had soaked him in acid, and hit the back of the cab with a loud bang. Jace-not really knowing what the hell was wrong but thinking that Alec was hurt-jumped at the vampire with his seraph blade, who simply ducked and laughed as he missed her.

While Jace and the vampire were fighting-the downworlder delcaring that he should have just let her bite him so that they could be together for all enternity-Isabelle grabbed Alec's arm and practically dragged him into the nearest dark alleyway. Almost as soon as they were consumed into the darkness, he turned and Isabelle had just about enough strength to catch him. "Fucking vampires," she cursed, refusing to keep her eyes anywhere but at either the floor or Alec's face. She helped him sit down on the ground without hurting himself and ran a hand through her hair.

"I can't believe this," Alec replied, his once again webbed together hands tugging at his hair in frustration.

"I can fix this," Isabelle said, shrugging off her jacket and reaching for her brother's face, which was still damp.

"Wait!" Alec blurted out.

"What?" she asked, surprised.

"I need my clothes," he whisper-hissed.

"They don't just come back!?" Isabelle exclaimed.

Alec shook his head. "They sort of fall off," he said.

"Okay, new plan," said Isabelle. "I'll go help Jace kill the vampire, grab your clothes and then come back, okay? You think you'll be alright here on your own until then?" Alec nodded hesitantly, unsure of what would happen if someone came along and found him like this. At least he was glamoured so mundanes finding him was out of the problem.

Isabelle turned to head back out the alleyway when Clary appeared in entry. "Isabelle? Alec? I found all your gear sitting by the cab . . . your jeans are here are everything . . ."

"Clary!" Isabelle lurched forward and spun the redhead around so her back faced Alec. "How's Jace doing with the vampire?"

"They're argueing over their love lives . . ." Clary replied. "It's kind of odd. They're not even hitting each other or anything now . . ." She looked down at the pile of clothes in her arms. "Are these Alec's?"

"Um, yes, give them to me and I'll take care of it," Isabelle said, taking the clothes from Clary.

"He's naked somewhere?" Clary asked with disbelief.

Isabelle's eyes widened. "No! Oh lord no! He wears so many layers he just had to shed a few to get to a wound the vampire gave him."

"Is he alright?" Clary moved to turn around but Isabelle kept her hands clamped down hard on her shoulders, inabling her to move.

"Yes, he's fine. Nothing a healing rune won't fix," she laughed nervously, giving Clary a gentle but strong push out of the alleyway. "Tell Jace I said to stop squabbling with the downworlder and kill her already." Nodding, Clary disappeared back out onto the street again. Isabelle then returned to Alec and used her jacket to wipe the water off his face. She looked away as he changed back and handed him his clothes.

The cold air bit Alec's skin as he quickly pulled his clothes back on. Completely clothed once more, he patted down his pockets to check all weapons were still there. "How did the vampire know to do that?" he muttered under his breath, whipping his stele out of his boot and carving a healing rune into his arm and neck to rid him of the cuts from the vamp's nails. "Do I just have a sign on my forehead now that just tells people what I am?"

"It was probably a lucky guess," Isabelle said.

"How is it a lucky guess? Who thinks, 'oh crap, I'm in trouble, let's see if this guy's one of the mer-folk!'" Alec exclaimed.

Isabelle shrugged. "Anyone could really," she said. "Well, the few who know your kind still exist anyway." They both slipped out of the alley to find Jace standing over a dead vampire, Clary pressed against the cab panting horribly from the shock of what she'd witnessed. "So how's the love life?"

Jace looked up at them and scowled. "What happened you?!" he asked Alec. "She threw water at you. _Water_. Water isn't poisonous. By the angel I thought she'd bit you or something!" Alec felt guilty. He and Isabelle had practically ditched him to deal with his stupid tail before his true essence was exposed, leaving him alone with a rabid vampire who had the hots for him.

"Leave off it Jace," Isabelle muttered, snatching the blond's arm and carving a healing rune into his skin. "It wasn't just the water." Clary wasn't looking at Jace for once, her eyes were locked on Alec, head tilted in avid curiosity. There was a certain sparkle to her gaze that sparked a flame of worry in Alec's gut. It was there and gone in a less than a millisecond and suddenly she was looking back at Jace and Isabelle.

"I think someone saw us," she said.

Everyone paused.

"What makes you say that?" Jace asked.

"When I went to give Alec some of the layers of his clothes that he'd taken off and Isabelle had started talking to me, there was a flash in the distance. Like a camera or something. I know you said we're glamoured but maybe it was a downworlder . . ." Isabelle gave Alec a sharp look, her eyes wide in horror. It took Alec a moment to understand what the problem was; when the truth hit him his jaw dropped open.

"What would a downworlder want with photos of shadowhunters in action?" Jace wondered, poking the vampire's arm with the toe of his boot. "I know they could get thousands from a photograph of me but still . . ."

"It's probably nothing," Isabelle said. Going against her own words, she walked back to the alleyway and peered inside. "There's no-one there any more . . . we'd better go."

"Agreed," Alec replied, grabbing his seraph blade off the ground and sliding it back into it's holster.

"What's the rush?" Jace asked as both siblings started power walking up the pavement.

"Business to attend to!" Isabelle replied.

~xXx~

_**An abandoned railway station:**_

"You'd never guess what I found!"

Camille examined her servant with distaste, her top lip curling in dislike of being distrubed. She stroked the velvet of her sofa with long taloned fingernails, sighing at the memory of an old ex who used to wear the same fabric. "This better be good," she hissed. The servant shrank back at her tone before resuming his stance and thrusting a photograph out to her. Irritated, Camille snatched it from him. "If this is another one of your budding photographer amatuer shots I'm going to kill you."

"No Madame Belacout, it's one of them," the servant replied. "A _syreni._"

The blonde woman gazed down at the photo in her hands with renewed interest. In the dark gloom of the alleyway in the picture she could just make out a dark haired girl with knee high boots standing over someone sitting propped up against a wall. From head to waist, the person on the ground looked normal enough, a boy with scruffed up dark hair that matched the girl's and a fit enough torso. But then Camille saw the boy's hands and her lips quirked up into a smile.

She hadn't seen webbed fingers in hundreds of years. Her eyes slid down the boy's body and took in what she'd been expecting to see. A long green tail pressed down into the still slightly damp gravel ground of the alley.

"That's not a _syreni_," she chuckled. "That's a _widimer hominis._"

The servant's eyes sparked. "What do we do about it?" he asked.

"Over five hundred years of searching and you're asking what do we do about it?" Camille replied. "Isn't it obvious what we're going to do about it? We're going to capture him." She stood up and paced the perimeter of the room in her blood red heels. "Who is he?"

"Alexander Gideon Lightwood," the servant replied in monotone. "Shadowhunter. The sister standing over him is Isabelle Lightwood, his sister. Their mother, Maryse Lightwood was a _syreni_. Genes have obviously been passed down the son but none to the daughter."

"A downworlder shadowhunter," Camille mused. "How peculier."

"I also have photos of him at Magnus Bane's apartment with his other shadowhunter friends," the servant explained. Now _that_ was definitely interesting. Camille smirked and folded the photograph up in half in her hands. "On official business apparently."

"Now what would Magnus need with a _widimer hominis_," Camille mused. "This has spiked my curiousity. We must find this Lightwood boy and use him."

The servant frowned. "Use him for what?"

Camille looked at him and smiled. "Isn't it obvious? Someone with his aqua qualities would be irreplaceable on our side in the cause."

"Which cause?"

The blonde quirked an eyebrow. "The cause against the downworlders."

**A/N: Please R&R with your thoughts!**

**Follow me on tumblr: : / hgtmigirlxx . tumblr (with no spaces).**

**Follow and I'll follow you back! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Getting closer to the end of City of Lost Souls guys and I'm completely dreading it because tumblr has told me what's coming for Magnus and Alec . . .  
:'(**

**Disclaimer:**

**I don't own The Mortal Instruments or any of Cassie's characters :(  
**_**Pam fod y byd i mi gasáu!**_

Chapter Five

"The cup is in the card."

"Oh that makes perfect sense," Alec muttered. Isabelle hit him upside the head and glared at him. "What? It does!" His sister pinched his arm with her razor sharp nails, inflicting a yelp.

"Remember what Magnus said about sarcasm?" she said. "Give her a chance to explain, will you?" Clary hadn't heard his rude comment anyway, still explaining the situation to Jace. Alec sighed and listened to what she had to say.

It turned out Clary had discovered that she could make objects melt into paper as drawings and could also reach in and take them out. And she thinks that maybe her mother hid the Mortal Cup in the Ace of Cups from a set of cards Jocelyn gave their neighbour Madame Dorothea. It seemed like quite a clever thing to do actually. If it was true, then Alec would definitely be impressed.

"We need a car to get to your apartment," Jace said as they stood in the lift to exit the insititute.

"I can call Simon," Clary replied.

Jace scoffed. "Do you think he'd come after what happened?" he asked. Alec looked at Jace curiously. What had happened? Was he missing something? Isabelle wasn't looking at him, instead her eyes were locked on the floor. She obviously knew what it was they were talking about but didn't want to tell him. That wasn't a good sign at all.

Simon did come to collect them in an old band van but he wasn't acting the way he had when Alec had last seen him. Whatever happened between himself, Jace and Clary must have been something big to change his attitude so quickly. Alec somehow didn't mind Clary's nerdy friend. He could read him as well as he could read everyone else and he knew how Simon felt for his best friend. He could see it in the boy's eyes when he looked at her. In a way, himself and Simon were almost the same.

Isabelle sat beside him in the backseat of the van. She was eyeing the bow and sheath of arrows he had sheathed to his back. "Are you going to use those?" she asked.

"No, I'm just wearing them because I wanted to look like Katniss Everdeen," Alec replied dryly. "Of course I'm going to use them. Why?"

"No reason . . . it's just . . . I don't think there's much threat in a witch in an old apartment building that you'd need to shoot her," Isabelle said. "Maybe just a seraph or something would be more fitting . . ."

"Okay, okay, fine," Alec said as the van stopped. Isabelle, himself and Jace climbed out of the back while Simon and Clary got out of the front. It was obvious the two friends had been talking because Clary looked helpless while Simon still wore a hard mask. As they unpacked some weapons, Jace regarded him oddly. "You okay?"

"Fine," replied Alec a bit too quickly, discarding his bow and quiver and grabbing a wooden featherstaff instead. Isabelle bit her lip, looking guilty.

"But your bow . . ." she said.

"I know what I'm doing Izzy," he muttered.

Inside Clary's old apartment building _stank._ Isabelle's hand flew to her nose in horror and Alec could practically feel himself turning green. Jace took a long sniff of it, as if inhaling the scent of the sweetest of roses. "Demons have been here," he said. "Excellent."

"I doubt I'll ever understand you," Clary muttered as they knocked on Madame Dorothea's door. Isabelle and Alec kept at the back of the room while Clary explained her idea to the witch about the cards. The woman looked . . . shifty. Almost frustrated with the idea of the cup being under her nose the entire time. Jace-being his usual sarcastic self-just wound the woman up more and more as the conversation continued.

_Eventually_ the witch let Clary attempt to get the cup out. Which, shockingly, she did. Alec couldn't believe it as he watched her use Jace's stele to draw out a rune onto the card and dipped her hand into the card, pulling it back with the cup in her hand. The room was silent as the five of the stood staring at it in awe.

"Somehow," Jace said, "I thought it'd be bigger."

Dorothea chuckled, her eyes blazing with manic light. Alec looked at the woman as she pulled a curtain down, revealing an open portal behind it. "What is _that?_" he asked in shock. A dark tendrail curled out of the gaping hole in wall and Jace shouted for them all to get on the floor as it curled around Madame Dorothea. Alec grabbed Isabelle and dragged her down, wrapping his arms around her and hiding her head in his chest as the witch screamed in the portal and morphed into something that was definitely not herself anymore.

"You said demon activity was low!" he found himself yelling at Jace.

"It was!" Jace replied.

"Well your definition of low must be different from mine then!" Jace stood up and pushed Clary out the door of the apartment as Dorothea continued to scream and mould into a monster. Isabelle darted out as well. Alec couldn't stop staring at the creature as bones cracked and twisted as what was once Dorothea turned into something not witch-like at all. He heard Jace swear under his breath and suddenly he was pushed out as well, stumbling into the hallway with the others.

The new greater demon- who he later found out was Abbadon-soon followed after them, oozing out the door and growling at them like an angry labadour. "Give it to me," it said. "Give me the cup."

"Never," Clary replied, quickly sticking the cup back into the card and shoving it into her pocket. As the demon went after her, Jace got between them, striking with his seraph blade. Isabelle was soon fighting too with her whip, hitting the demon where she could. Alec stood there almost paralysed, until he saw that demon was about to hit a fatal blow to Jace. Almost propelled into action, he darted between them and stabbed the thing with his featherstaff.

Abbadon screamed and swiped him off his feet with a vicious hit, sending him flying backwards into the wall. Alec could hear his own bones crunching as he struck the back wall harder than he thought was possible. Pain branched up his body from his back to his head and he fell to the floor in a crumpled heap.

"Alec!" Isabelle screamed. He heard her cry out in pain and he tried to move, his limbs not responding to anything he told them to do. Everything that was happening around him was turning into just a giant blurr of swirling darkness and screams of pain. As he slid in and out of conciousness, there was a loud shattering sound, like a brick being thrown through a glass window, and suddenly a shaft of light was burning behind his shut eyelids.

At first, Alec thought he'd died, and images of his body in the Bone City came to mind, and he accepted his impending doom and went lax on the floor. Someone picked his head up and rested it on their knees, brushing his hair from his face. Alec supposed to was supposed to be a comforting gesture but the light was still streaming down on him and he was too concentrated on repenting for every bad thing he'd ever done to take any notice.

It was when he heard a voice that he realized that maybe it wasn't his time just yet. Isabelle was whispering to him. "Please don't leave me Alec," she said. "Don't leave me please. No! Jace stop!"

"We need to put a healing rune on him!" Jace snapped.

"You can't!" Isabelle said.

"He'll die!"

Out of all the runes in the gray book, a healing rune was the only one that burned Alec's downworlder skin and poisoned him. He'd hidden wounds and had pretended that he'd drew the rune on him but he never had. Jace had never questioned him when he said he'd done it. Why would he not trust him with something as simple as that?

"He'll die if you mark him!" Isabelle yelled. "It burns Downworlder skin!"

"He's not a Downworlder-"

"YES HE IS!" Isabelle screamed. "We need to get him back to insititute and get HELP!" Jace fell silent and Alec tried to lift his heavy eyelids to look at him. He knew his sister had told him the truth for his own good but he couldn't help worrying about what his _parabatai_ would think of him now that he knew the truth.

"He's a what?" Clary asked.

"It doesn't matter right now!" Isabelle yelled.

That's when he passed out.

_"I'm so sorry."_

_Alec regarded Hodge carefully, his eyebrows woven together in confusion. "What for Hodge?" he asked. His guardian didn't answer. Instead he pulled open a drawer in his desk and handed him a piece of paper. _

_"Read that and try not to judge her too harshly," Hodge said. He slipped out of the room to give ten year old Alec some privacy. Confused, the boy looked at the paper and read the curly writing that danced across the page in elegant script. _

_It read:_

_'To my dearest Alec,_

_If Hodge has given you this letter then I fear it means he is nearing his end. I wish he knew how much what he has done means to me, raising yourself and Isabelle in the way Robert and I could never do because of my silly fears._

_Son . . . even writing that word doesn't seem right. I don't deserve to call you my son. I should have been there for you growing up but I haven't been and I don't think I have the courage to ever be. Because I know what I've done to you could very well destroy your entire life. And it's my fault. I knew it from the moment I first bathed you as a baby. Robert thought you were a monster. I could never think of you as that._

_If there was one thing I could ask of you once Hodge leaves, it's this: Stay away from water. I know I don't have a place to be giving you orders of any kind but please, for the sake of all good, stay away from the water. Because if they ever find you . . . if she ever found you . . . I would never forgive myself. Just . . . don't touch the water. Any water. Stay away, okay?_

_I love you and Isabelle very much, remember that._

_Lots of love, more than you could ever imagine,_

_Maryse Lightwood, your mother._

_Someday I'll come back to you.'_

"Come back Alec, please."

_Someday, I'll come back._

"You need to come back Alec, please, I need you."

_I'll come back._

"Alec, please!"

_Come back._

"Don't leave me please!"

_Back._

"ALEC!"

"Now Miss Lightwood, I doubt screaming is going to help anyone."

Alec screwed his eyes shut tighter, a blistering headache curling around his entire head. What happened? His entire body felt heavy and sore, like he'd broken nearly every bone in him.

"I'LL SCREAM IF I WANT TO SCREAM BANE! HE'S MY BROTHER AND HE'S DYING!"

"I understand that he's your brother Miss Lightwood but screaming isn't going to bring him back." Miss Lightwood? Isabelle? Bane? As in _Magnus?_ No longer feeling the desperate urge to keep his eyes shut, Alec fought to push them open. His vision came through slowly, blurry images taking moments to sharpen into solid forms.

Isabelle stood at the end his bed, her fist curled around Magnus' shirt, his face splattered with rage. Hot tears were burning down her cheeks, her hair was a mess and her clothes were ruffled. Magnus was calm, one hand laid upon the fist Izzy had his shirt in, while the other sat on his leather clad hip. "Look, Miss Lightwood-can I call you Isabelle?"

"No," Isabelle replied.

"Okay Isabelle," Magnus said, "your brother is in a stable condition, he's fine. Screaming at him to wake up isn't going to make him come back any faster than doing some dance in the middle of the infirmary would. Although that would be a very intrigueing show indeed."

Isabelle didn't relax, in fact, her muscles tightened even more as she pulled him closer and their faces were inches apart. "How did you know about him?" she hissed.

Magnus quirked an eyebrow. "I'm sorry?" he asked.

_"A Domino, is es, caudam oculis caeruleis unum angelum pisces pulcherrima_,_"_ Isabelle whisper hissed. "How did you know about him, I've never told no one and neither has he!"

The warlock rolled his eyes. "Book buckles," he said.

Isabelle's hand fell away from his shirt. "What?" A sharp pain stabbed Alec's back and he groaned, his eyes falling shut again. Isabelle's head whipped over to him and she gaped. "Alec?" she whispered.

"Yeah?" he croaked.

"Oh my lord thank angel you're okay!" she exclaimed, falling back beside the bed and grabbing his hand. "I thought you were dead Alec!"

"I _told you_ he was alive," Magnus pointed out. He had moved to stand on the other side of the bed, his lean frame looming over them both intimidatedly. "But little Miss Cheery Whip wouldn't stop her endless screaming." Isabelle scowled at him but he just returned the gesture with a shrug. Blue sparks jumped from his fingertips as his feline eyes locked with Alec's baby blues. "How do you feel?"

"In pain," Alec muttered.

"You will be for a while but you're going to be fine," Magnus replied, a spark flying from his forefinger and sticking to Alec's temple, immediately soothing the pain there. Sighing in relief, Alec let his eyes flutter shut again. Isabelle stroked the top of his hand with her thumb and tucked the blanket tighter around his body.

"Now tell me how you know about him," she said to Magnus.

"Leave it alone Izzy," Alec murmered.

Isabelle spluttered. "No!" she said. "I'm not leaving anything alone. How do you know he's not going to tell anyone?!"

Alec sighed and opened his eyes again. "Trust me, he won't," he told her. Isabelle turned to Magnus, her eyes blaring with rage. Whether it was because she didn't believe he'd keep the secret or she was angry that she wasn't the only one who knew about it anymore, Alec wasn't sure.

"How did you find out?" she asked the warlock. "What do you mean boot buckles?"

"He got a tad wet at my party," Magnus replied. "Nothing major sweetheart, don't worry. And no, I won't tell no-one." Isabelle stopped up and let her whip slide down into her hand. Green eyes narrowing into a glare, she leaned forward and coiled it around her wrist.

"You better not or I will strangle you with my whip and make sure every molecule of air leaves your body slowly so you _suffer_," she hissed. She flounced off without another word. Magnus looked at Alec incredulously.

"You're sister is terrifying," he said.

Alec closed his eyes and smiled, resting his head back on the fluffy infirmary pillows. "Yeah, I know," he said. "She's really not that bad." Since the spark from Magnus' fingertips had touched his head, the pain had vanporised from his body and he was suddenly feeling very relaxed.

"So, can you tell me what happened in a reasonable tone of voice?" Magnus asked, sitting down on the chair beside the bed. The infirmary was old and so was it's furniture, so the chair creaked in protest to the sudden weight dropped onto it.

"Greater Demon, Abbadon," Alec replied flippantly. "I tried to defend Jace and got hit with it's talons."

"Ouch," Magnus said. "You're lucky you're still here."

Alec cracked an eye open and frowned. "Wow, thanks for that," he said. "That's the most reassuring 'get better' message I've ever heard." Magnus grinned and brushed a stray lock of hair out of his eyes.

"No problem, I'll be here all day," he replied.

"Really?" Alec asked.

"Until I'm positive you're okay," Magnus said. He smiled and blinked, glitter sparkling in his eyelashes. Alec smiled let his eye droop shut again. It was nice to just relax for a while without the impending threat of demons or rogue downworlders or the exposure of his secret. Then he remembered, his secret _was_ exposed.

_"He'll die if you mark him! It burns Downworlder skin!"_

_"He's not a Downworlder-"_

_"YES HE IS!" _

"Has Isabelle explained to Jace and Clary?" he asked quietly.

"About your secret?" Magnus asked. Alec nodded. "Yeah, she has."

"And?"

"And they want to know if you're alright."

Alec wasn't sure what he'd expected. To be told that they were digusted? That they didn't want anything to do with him anymore? Not that they were worried that he was okay from the attack or not. He frowned almost to himself, beginning to wonder if he'd heard Magnus wrong or something like that.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked.

Magnus chuckled. "Yeah," he said. "I'm sure. As soon as they're back from talking to Hodge about the cup, they're coming here to see you."

"And they don't care what I am?" Alec asked slowly.

The warlock shrugged. "I'm not sure they believe it, really, if I'm honest."

Alec turned his head so his cheek was pressed against the pillow and looked at Magnus curiously. Even in time of emergency, the warlock still had a strong layer of glitter coating his skin and hair, and still looked like any second he was going to attend a party. Normally, that would have seemed tacky to Alec but for some reason he found it endearing. Sighing, he turned his head to stare at the ceiling, his brow screwed up in concentration.

"How did you know?" he asked.

Magnus frowned. "I told you, boot buckles."

"Not that," Alec said. "How did you know . . ." He bit his lip while trying to think of the right way to word it.

"That you don't preference the company of women?" Alec cringed at the clear smirk he could hear in Magnus' voice. Even hearing it out loud was enough to make him wince in embarressment, as if it was something to be ashamed of. He knew it _wasn't_ something to be ashamed of but with Isabelle being the only other person to know of the truth.

"Yeah, that." Alec frowned. "I didn't make _that_ obvious did I?"

Magnus chuckled. "Nope," he replied. "I'm just really good at reading people."

Alec laughed. Isabelle had told him the exact same thing. Using your eyes to consume intricate details that others mightn't notice and using them to decipher out a person's story came to him very easy. But he had always been the reader, not the person being read. He'd never realized how startling it felt to know that someone looked into you and read your life just because of the way you acted without thinking about it.

"I had an idea almost as soon as you blushed on my doorstep after struggling with your buckles."

"Oh." Alec's voice was quiet, as he mulled it all over in his head.

"If it's any condeslation, I didn't know for sure until I kissed you. You're not wearing a homosexual neon sign on your chest or anything," Magnus said. He quirked an eyebrow thoughtfully. "Although that sounds like a outrageous fashion statement."

"Oh yes, the envy of all of those who are in the closet," Alec muttered.

Magnus grinned. "Exactly." He leaned back in the seat and stretched out his legs, resting his arms behind his head. "If I'm honest, I never pictured our third meeting to have went this way." Alec found a smile growing on his face and he glanced at the warlock out of the corner of his eye.

"And what had you expected it to have been?" he asked. "Swimming pool or just the bath again?" Magnus laughed. At least the boy still had the energy to have a sense of humour. That was reassuring at least.

"Maybe just a resturaunt or something like that," the warlock replied.

Alec felt blood rising to his cheeks, but that might have just been because of his current state of health. "Magnus, are you asking me out?" he asked. He was surprised to find his tone light with a flirty undertone. A tone he'd never used before in his entire life. Maybe he was just dellusional from being injured.

Magnus grinned. "It depends, what would your answer be?"

Many thoughts ran rampid through Alec's brain at that moment. What would his parents think? Would they approve if he went out with a Downworlder? Stratch that, would they approve if he went out with a _male_ Downworlder? Surely not. He'd be tossed out of the Clave for such actions. Alec began to wonder what did it really matter. A date was a date, it wasn't even that much of a big deal. A single date. That was all. That couldn't get him kicked out, right?

Alec turned his head to face the warlock again, unable to fight the smile that crept onto his face when he caught sight of Magnus' glitter twinkling by the lamp by the bed. His cheeks reddened as he quietly answered the question.

"When should we do it, then?"

Magnus' grin exposed that he already had everything all planned out.

**A/N: Hope you liked it! :D**

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_**Adolygu fy stori a byddaf yn caru chi am byth a bob amser!**_


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry for the delay guys! Here's chapter six!**

**I'm starting school again tomorrow so updating is probably going to slow down. I know, it sucks but there's nothing I can do. Sadly, school is school.**  
**On another note, I finished City of Lost Souls the other night. I'm not even sure I can comment on it. It's just so . . . so . . . tragic I can't even . . . URGH!**

**Disclaimer:**  
**I don't own the works of Cassandra Clare or her characters. Bummer, right?**

_**Droedio'n ofalus drwy fy ngeiriau teithiwr blinedig am ddim yn gyfrifol am ddifrod a achoswyd i'r meddwl oherwydd fy gwallgofrwydd.**_

Chapter Six

Magnus had left a while back because he had to feed his cat. Alec was surprised that the High Warlock of Brooklyn even had something as common as a cat. Shadowhunters saw pets as a waste of time and a waste of space.

Clary and Jace had went through Hodge's old notes on what to do when they found the Mortal Cup and were appalled to find that he was planning to give it up to Valentine. Alec hadn't believed them when they'd came into the infirmary with Isabelle close behind and explained it all out. Alec felt betrayed because, even though his old mentor had died years ago, it still hurt to think that he still would have given one of the Mortal Instruments just because he wanted to have his curse lifted.

It made Alec wonder if the only reason Hodge even looked after him and kept him from water was because he had no other choice because of the curse bestowed on him by the Clave because of his involvement in the Circle.

Isabelle knew that the feeling of treachery had hit her brother harder than it had for herself and Jace. Of course it hurt them too, but Izzy knew of how Hodge had protected Alec from his Downworlder traits when he was a child when their mother had left them and had treated him like his own son. Once Alec was discharged from the infirmary with crutches, he'd spent a long time on his own, rethinking everything.

He couldn't help thinking it was a good thing that Hodge was dead so that the Mortal Cup couldn't be given over to Valentine. But that was awful, wasn't it? Because that was like being thankful that he had died when he did . . . which was a horrific way to think. And yet all the years that Hodge had spent inside the institute, teaching himself and Isabelle and Jace how to live and learn and fight . . . was it all just an act just because he couldn't set foot outside?

"So, when are you going out with Magnus?" Isabelle asked. They were in her bedroom, just moping around while Jace and Clary flew away into the sunset on a vampire motorcycle to visit Jocelyn in hospital, because there was really nothing else to do but wallow in each other's misery. Alec was surprised by the sudden, and totally random, question.

"I'm not sure," he replied. Isabelle was swinging back and forth, her hands gripping the handles of Alec's crutches, elbows encircled with the grey plastic grips, so that her feet didn't touch the floor.

"Have you had the birds and the bees talk yet?" his sister suddenly blurted out. Alec looked at her dubiously, wondering what the hell she was talking about.

"What?" he asked. "Birds and Bees? Birds-classed Aves or clade Avialae-are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic (warm-blooded), egg-laying, vertebrate animals and Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. How they could have a common consistancey in the same conversation?"

For some insane reason, Isabelle was laughing.

"Oh my goodness Alec," she exclaimed, wiping her eyes. "Oh angel this is priceless. I'm not talking about that. Good facts though, real interesting."

"What are you talking about then?" he asked.

"Uh . . . you know . . . the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees? Oh please tell me you've heard of it? You couldn't possibly of been _that_ emersed in training for all those years without having heard of the birds and the bees?" Taking in Alec's blank expression, Isabelle sighed. "Oh angel, it's times like this I really wish mom was here . . ."

"Isabelle, you're making no sense," Alec replied.

Isabelle stopped swinging on the crutches and put her feet on the floor. "Okay, we're going to have to talk," she said. "You're eighteen, which apparently is a peek age for . . . stuff . . . and even though I'm younger than you I became more aware of it because I've been dating long before you. Magnus Bane is like a . . . a great guy and kind of a sex god."

Alec pulled an embarrassed face. "I know," he said. "Your point being?"

"You've never been with a guy before," Isabelle continued. "And I swear to the angel, if our mom hadn't of left us, I wouldn't even be having this conversation with you. I've never wished Hodge was alive more than I do now."

"Isabelle . . . are you giving me the _sex_ talk?!" Alec exclaimed, suddenly realizing what she was trying to say. "Oh my angel, oh god, you don't have to-"

"It needs to be said," Isabelle plowed on, putting a what she hoped was a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Now I'm no expert on how guys do it with other guys but I can find out for you if that's what you want-"

"That's really not nessecary-"

"And I guess you're kind of lucky because you don't have to worry about pregnancy but there's still the issue with STDS-"

"Isabelle, please stop-"

"Now I'm not trying to say that Magnus would have anything bad and I don't even know if you guys can even have the type of sex that could give you an STD." Isabelle pulled a face. "Can you?"

"Yes, but Isabelle-"

"Okay then, well, be careful because STDs can kill and it's a pretty sucky way to go-"

"Isabelle-"

"Just wear a condom alright!"

"Isabelle!" Alec exclaimed, feeling a blush burning on his face. "Please shut up!"

"Someone had to say it!" Isabelle concluded, dropping down beside him onto the bed. "I don't want you going off on a date and going back to his place or whatever, having a brilliant time and then not being safe."

"Isabelle, we're not going to do anything," insisted Alec. "It's just a date." His big sister rolled her eyes, her dark curls bouncing as she shook her head. It was as if the concept of dating without something coming out of the end of it was an impossible and alien thing to think about.

"I just want you to have fun," she said. "I know you're responsible Alec but just in case, you know?" Alec sighed and nodded. It was sweet for Isabelle to be concerned, he supposed, but that didn't make it any more awkward. They sat there in silence for a couple of minutes before Isabelle suddenly reached out, grabbed his crutches and passed them to him and smiled. "Go get him."

~xXx~

Walking to Magnus' apartment with a broken leg and crutches wasn't the smartest of ideas but when Isabelle had sent him outside to 'go get him', Alec found himself making his way through Brooklyn to the Warlock's apartment. He guessed it was normal enough to casually visit to find out when their date was because . . . he'd lost Magnus' number when he put his pants into the wash.

Alec was horrified to find that his hand was shaking when he quickly pressed the button. As soon as the buzzer sounded, he whipped his finger off as if it had electrocuted him. He wasn't sure why, maybe it was just nerves. After a pause, he realized he'd have to do it again, so he pressed the button again, steeling himself and letting it linger longer than before. Finally, it clicked and the quiet night was filled with the sound of Magnus' voice.

"Who is it?" He sounded slightly irritated, which made Alec's heart stutter in fear. What if he was interuppting something important? What if Magnus didn't want to see him right now? This almost made him spin around and walk away but there was something keeping his feet rooted to the concrete beneath him.

"It's A-Alec," he managed to stutter through the intercom. He cursed himself for the stutter. He thought he'd overcome that when he was five. He only stuttered nowadays when he was anxious about something, which wasn't that often.

"Ah, blue eyes, I was wondering when you'd decide to come," Magnus purred through the speaker, his voice no longer irritable. The door buzzed open and Alec used his crutches to push it so he could get through. The stairs proved a bit of a problem and by the time he had made it to Magnus' open front door, his arms were crying from the exertion. Still, he'd experienced much worse in the past and he was certainly able to push through it.

The apartment was somewhat empty, which surprised Alec. It was strange seeing the place empty, after only having been there for Magnus' crazy parties. The place was deserted and silent and the air seemed almost eerie. Alec would have wondered where the warlock was if it hadn't of been for the trail of glitter that was dusted along the hardwood floor, starting at Alec's feet and bending around the kitchen counter which had doubled as the bar at the party and stopping at a door in the right corner. Alec hobbled over and bumped the door open with his hip, stepping through into the room.

A swimming pool. He seriously had a swimming pool?!

A massive rectangular pool sat in the center of the room, a set of marble steps leading down and into the water. The colour of the tiles underneath was turqouise, the reflections of the water wavering off the walls and ceiling. The tug in Alec's gut that had become all too famaliar propelled him towards the water, only stopping when the toes of his boots reached the very edge of floor that cut off into the pool. The water continued to move regardless, the small waves moving boundless and freely, sometimes lapping over the sides and dripping down into the drains that lined the edges.

If he moved even an inch more . . . he'd be in the water . . .

Magnus had intended to make his presence in the pool room obvious immediately, as soon as the shadowhunter had found his way in, but instead he found himself leaning back against the back wall, simply watcing him. He was glad to see that the boy had followed his advice and was using the crutches he had provided him with. The break in his leg was pretty nasty and if he tried to walk without the aid of the crutches then it would have just made it much worse.

One thing that had always fascinated Magnus was how the shadowhunters could parade around in such dull and dark attire. Even now, the blue eyed wonder was in stygian colours, his sweater fraying at the hem and suffering from mutiple holes, most of them hidden by a leather jacket. His denim jeans were tucked into his leather combat boots, the metal decorative clasps glistening in the water's reflection. Normally Magnus would have seen such sloppy dressing awkward and unappealing but for some reason he couldn't help but think that the Lightwood boy was incredibly sexy when he was awkward.

"You know I thought you were joking when you said I could swim in your pool whenever I liked," Alec suddenly said, startling the warlock out of his reverie. He looked over his shoulder at Magnus, large baby blues blinking at him and a small smile playing on his lips. "No one can sneak up on a shadowhunter."

Magnus chuckled. "Oh really?" he asked. "I'd never have guessed."

"Don't feel bad," Alec said, turning back to the water. Magnus walked around, the small heels on his boots clicking against the marble floor. The water reflections were everywhere, not only bouncing off the walls and ceiling, but also glowing against the shadowhunter's pale skin as he stared into the water with a transfixed frown on his face.

Having lived for hundreds of years, Magnus knew a lot about the mer-folk. He knew how once they reached the age of puberty (which was, for them, eighteen years old) they would find it difficult to stay away from water. Because the instinctal pull towards the water was like the way gravity pulled mundanes and the like to the ground. Now Magnus wasn't trying to be a complete ass by bringing Alec to the swimming pool but he did want to see if he would react to the urge and jump in.

"You can go in if you want," he said. Okay, he also kind of wanted to see him turn into a merman again. What? He was freaking adorable in his aqua form. Magnus could see how close to the edge the shadowhunter was and knew that even inching forward would mean falling in.

"I'm not going in there," Alec muttered, shifting his weight on the crutches. "I'm ugly as hell in the water." It was surprising to hear something like that come from one of the mer-folk (from what Magnus remembered they were very vain creatures) and it momentarily took him aback. Then the warlock realized he couldn't have expected any less. The boy was a bashful young thing, in his mer-form or not.

"I wouldn't say that," Magnus replied, his eyes never leaving the side of Alec's face as his arms trembled in the effort not to jump in. A deep green tail that shone like the stars in the sky flashed in his mind, the deepest blue eyes he'd ever seen blinking back at him in hatred as he remembered when he had put the shadowhunter-downworlder in the bath that night . . .

"Yeah, okay, I kind of got that from the whole bath thing," Alec replied. He turned to Magnus, exasperation written all over his face. "You have crazy tastes, you know that?"

Magnus laughed. "Well, six hundred years of dating, you become bi-curious."

Alec looked stunned. "You're six hundred?" he asked in awe.

"No," Magnus answered. Alec's features relaxed. "I'm eight hundred."

"What?!"

"Why, got something against older guys?" The warlock asked. Alec gave him an incredulous look when Magnus winked.

"You are mad," he concluded.

Magnus shrugged. "That may all be," he said. "There's no harm in a bit of insanity now and then is there not, Alexander?" Alec pulled a face at the use of his full name and blanched. Only his parents called him that and it sounded strange coming from the mouth of a man he had kissed desperately while pinned up against a door.

"I don't know, you tell me," he replied. "I guess you're right, this is all just a tad more insane than I'm used to. I mean, I could hunt and fight demons all day long but give me a confident warlock who seems obsessed with turning me back into a mermaid and I . . . I don't really know how to deal with that."

Magnus grinned. The glitter in his hair sparkled in the water's impression so it looked like there were numerous small fairies glittering on his head. "You think _way _too much," he said. Alec shrugged, not disagreeing. "You really should dull your thoughts and think less. Or at least think of something other than shadowhunting and that blond boy, what was his name again? Jeremy?"

"Jace," Alec replied curtly. No longer having a desire to continue the conversation, he turned back to the water and studied his reflection. It was irritating how he always looked the same. Same old predictable Alec Lightwood who's never killed a demon and invariably follows the rules of the Clave, word for word and line by line. Maybe if he did something diverse and unlike himself people would stop thinking that way but . . . he could never bring himself to act anything offbeat to his orderly routine. "How did you know?" he asked. "About Jace? Since you are impecably able to read all my secrets so easily?"

Magnus was also staring at the reflection, perfect eyebrow raised in silent question. "I don't do it on purpose, being able to tell everyone's secrets. I mean, I notice things and am able to decipher them. You look at this James-"

"Jace."

"-in a way a puppy would look at its owner. With unconditionable admiration and love. Although, of course, I have seen the _parababtai_ rune on you both, and I'd assume it's for each other, yes?"

Alec nodded.

"I'd say that you entered this agreement to mark yourself without equivocation because your affection for your bleached blond hunter reaches inexplicable heights." Magnus didn't seem angry or upset about the fact that the guy he's kissed twice has a hidden haboured love for someone else. His lips were curled up into a small smile, almost in amusement. This just deepened Alec's scowl. The knowledge of someone else other than Isabelle knowing about his infactuation for Jace being a scary thought.

"His hair isn't bleached," he finally said.

Magnus laughed. "I apologize for the _faux pas_."

Fervent to change the subject, Alec took a hold of a stray thread on his sweater to fiddle with and exhaled. "Back in the bath you said there were downworlders out there who would pay to have someone like me," he said. "What did you mean?"

Magnus dipped the toe of his boot into the water and stirred it up, causing it to lap more vigrously over the edge of the pool. Alec glared at him as the water slipped underneath his feet and slipped back again. "Because most of the mer-folk are extinct which means that the collapse of your people's survival has expanded the value of such things as the pelt of a mer-folk's tail or gills or even _blood._ If someone found out about there was one here in New York, there'd be a lot of people hunting you down. Money is one of the main magnitudes of people's lives which is . . . kind of sad."

"So they're looking to skin me and take my blood?" Alec asked, a shiver running through his body at the very thought.

"If you want to say it in such a scatological way, then, yes," Magnus replied.

"Well, that's not something you'd hear everyday . . ."

"Nothing to worry about, really," assured Magnus, crossing his arms. Alec clenched his jaw, fighting back the fear of being caught by one of these insane downworlders and skinned for money. Because someone had taken a photo of Izzy and himself when they were in the alleyway. What if it was one of _them_? Having a 'what the hell' moment of impulse, he pulled his arms out of the bands of the crutches, shrugged off his jacket and letting the fabric drop to the floor.

"Here, take these," he said, handing Magnus his crutches. The warlock took them without casually, twirling one around his hand like a baton before leaning his weight against it like one who do with a cane.

Alec's broken leg didn't give much room to back up to far or even move that much for a running start, and yet somehow, without having to move at all, when he jumped off the edge of the pool and dived into the water, it was perfectly executed and as graceful as a champion swimmer.

Magnus observed as soon as Alec broke the surface of the water, he changed. The change was difficult to explain, you don't exactly see him _change._ It's like it just happens. A turning point where one moment he's one thing and a moment later he's another. His clothes lay discarded by the edge of the pool, as if some natural and unknown force had come and made sure the clothing didn't touch the water or get wet. Magnus couldn't understand why the shadowhunter didn't spend more time in water. He was a beautiful speciman that shouldn't have been hidden from him for so long.

Alec spent a moment under the water, hands pressed into the bottom of the pool while his tail flicked to keep him afloat. His vision sharpened, the lines between the tiles becoming clearer in the wavering water. His heartbeat-did mer-folk have hearts?-was beating like a rabbits', in a flurry of continous rapid pulses, pumping this supposedly expensive blood through his veins. As he breathed, bubbles were produced, escaping his mouth and bursting as they reached the surface.

"Alexander," Magnus' voice broke through the water, reaching Alec's ears clear as it would have if he'd still have been standing beside him. "You can't stay down there all day now."

"I know," Alec replied sharply. "Just give me a moment to think, okay?" Magnus held his hands up in surrender, watching curiously as the shadowhunter-now-mer-folk stayed frozen in stasis at the bottom of the pool, the back of his head the only thing he could see clearly. When Alec finally sighed and resurfaced from the bottom of the pool, Magnus was grinning. "What?" he demanded.

"Oh nothing," the warlock replied, immediately entraced with the deep blue that had broken the boundery of the iris and spilled out to dye the white of the eye. Even the thin slit that had once been the boy's pupil reminded Magnus of his own feline oculars.

"I think someone may already know what I am," Alec said, interuppting his reverie. "Someone other than you and my sister."

Magnus tilted his head. "What makes you think that?" he asked.

"I was out hunting with Isabelle, Jace and Clary, you know after the incident at your party? And I was trying to keep this vampire pinned to the ground while Jace recovered from an attack when they did something . . ."

"What did they do?" Magnus frowned.

"She hissed _syreni_ and threw puddle water in my face," Alec answered. "And when Isabelle had managed to get me into the alleyway, Clary said she saw someone take a photograph . . . so I'm pretty sure other people know about me now. Surely that can't be a bad thing though, if they're looking for mer-folk then they've lucked out because I'm nothing. I'm not even that special for a shadowhunting downworlder."

"Hmm," Magnus replied, disgusted with how the boy spoke so lowly of himself. "Still, it doesn't sound good. Who would have had a camera in an alleyway the exact moment a vampire threw puddle water in your face? It sounds too concidental to be a chance happening. Maybe you're not as safe or well hidden as I'd orginally thought . . ."

"That's a bad thing right?" Alec asked, brushing his wet hair out of his eyes.

"Think of it this way," Magnus replied, crouching down by the edge and gesturing for Alec to come closer. He tried, but realized with a yelp that whenever he tried to swim, a sharp prickle of pain would shoot up his tail.

"Is my tail broken as well?!" he exclaimed in alarm. Magnus frowned, never having heard of a mer-folk breaking their tail.

"I don't know," he replied. "Here, hold on." Pushing out as far as he could, Magnus managed to grab ahold of Alec's elbow, gently pulling him through the water towards him. Alec, having no energy what-so-ever to protest or fight it, let him do what he wanted. When he was at the edge again, right below Magnus, he watched wearily as the warlock reached into the water and took a gentle hold of the bottom of his tail, where tail met fins, and pulled it out.

There was a deep purple bruise on one of the fins, spreading up the tail and to the tip of the feathered fin. "Yup, that's broken."

"Is that even possible?!"

"I honestly have no idea," Magnus replied. "Let me see if I can heal it." As he lifted his left hand, sapphire sparks immediately erupted from his fingertips. Alec shivered as he placed his hand on the bruise and watched in awe as the purple's consistancy got less deep and lightened to more subtle hue. "That's better, it's only spraint now."

"Is that supposed to be a good thing?" Alec asked.

Magnus shrugged. "Better than broken, I'd say." He gently lowered the tail back into the water and patted Alec's head affectionately. "Anway, as I was saying, think of it this way: to downworlders, finding a member of the mer-folk, especially in Manhatten of all places, is an extreme rarity. Like finding a dodo strolling down the street or mucking about with the pigeons."

"So I'm a _dodo?!_" Alec replied, hissing when one of his canines sunk into his lip. He hadn't gotten used to having such sharp teeth and it made it very difficult indeed to talk without stabbing himself with his own teeth.

Magnus winced and reached out to him, running his thumb along his bottom lip and wiping up the blood. Alec felt heat rising to his cheeks in embarrassment but he decided to act as if it wasn't happening, staring back at the warlock defiantly. "Not a dodo," Magnus said, his breath brushing Alec's face. It smelt like cinamon and candy. "More like a magnificent, rare creature that everyone is dying to get their hands on."

"So _I am_ a dodo," Alec said.

"You think a dodo is a magnificent, rare creature?" Magnus asked, pulling a face.

"It's certainly rare. So rare that they're all dead. It's either that or a woolly mammoth."

"At least mammoths are cuddly . . ."

"How in the world is a woolly mammoth _cuddly?_"

"I don't know, they're like extra furry elephants. Elephants are cuddly, right?"

"Have you ever cuddled an elephant?"

"Maybe. It depends. I think I might have. One drunken night long ago where a friend of mine and myself broke into a zoo. We nearly got malled by hyenas . . . it was such a laugh." Alec scrunched his nose up at the pun, which caused Magnus to laugh himself. "But yeah, I think there was elephant cuddling at one point and it was pretty nice but then again that might have just been me and my friend hugging each other . . ."

"How did we even get onto this conversation?" Alec questioned.

"You asked if elephants were cuddly. No wait, you asked if woolly mammoths were cuddly."

"I was right," Alec concluded. Magnus cocked an eyebrow in question. "You are mad."

"Men have called me mad; but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence– whether much that is glorious– whether all that is profound– does not spring from disease of thought– from moods of mind exalted at the expense of the general intellect," Magnus said.

Alec frowned. "That's Edgar Allen Poe," he said.

"Clever boy," Magnus replied. "So you aren't just a pretty face."

"People trust their eyes above all else - but most people see what they wish to see, or what they believe they should see; not what is really there," Alec replied. "So you wish to see just a pretty face, do you Magnus Bane?"

"Ah, Zoe Marriott," Magnus replied. "Beating me at my own game, then are we?"

"You asked for it," Alec shrugged.

Magnus smiled. "I could ask for a lot of things from you," he said. "But it really depends on whether you'd chose to do them are not."

"And why is that?"

"Because," Magnus said, his voice tinted with an underlaying of mischief, "a lot them are very naughty."

**A/N: Phew! I'm glad I got this done for you guys! Especially because of school starting again tomorrow.**

**Sidenote: I know that mermaids aren't near extinct in the TMI universe but just for this story, let's say they are, okay? Thanks ^_^**

**Please R&R! **

_**Diolch i chi am gymryd yr amser i adolygu, mae'n cael ei werthfawrogi!**_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Guys, I cannot apologize enough for the long wait!**

**I didn't expect school to be so difficult and for myself to get writer's block **  
**because of all the homework. I am SO sorry!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Mortal Instruments. **

**Who else heard the news about the City of Ashes Movie? Aaargh I'm so excited! :D**

Chapter Seven

Isabelle sat in her bedroom, picking at her nail polish. She was in an unnaturally good mood ever since her brother went out to go to Magnus' apartment. He'd been so isolated for so long . . . it delighted her that he had found someone. Well, more like someone had found _him._ It still made the smile on her face not want to leave, even after Hodge's betrayal.

A knock on her door snapped her out of her gleeful reverie. When she called whoever it was in, the door swung open to reveal Jace and Clary standing in the threshold of her bedroom. She cocked her head in wonder, her dark hair spilling over one shoulder. "Yes?" she asked, blinking to detangle some of her eyelashes.

"You have some explaining to do," Jace said, coming into the room without an invite to come in. Clary, however, hung back nervously, only entering when Isabelle jerked her head in a 'come on in' gesture. Jace sat down on the seat beside her vanity and leaned back, folding his arms. "Go on," he said, "we're listening."

Isabelle scowled. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said.

"Oh cut the crap, Iz," Jace scoffed. "'He _is_ a Downworlder'? What was _that?_"

"Uh . . . momentary case of cautionary madness?" Isabelle tried.

Clary perched uneasily on the edge of the bed. "You can tell us, Iz," she said. "I mean, we know Alec's a downworlder now, you told us that much once Magnus had arrived, but I don't understand why you won't tell us any more than that. We won't judge him, we promise. Don't we, Jace?"

"Depends," Jace grunted.

"Depends?!" Clary shrilled. "He's your _parababtai_ you idiot, of course you're not going to judge him you bloody moron!" Jace grinned in amusement at her outburst and shook his head, which just added more fuel to her chargin. Isabelle watched as they argued for a couple of minutes-like an old married couple-thankful that the spotlight wasn't on her. It wasn't her place to tell them about Alec but if they kept pressing then she might be forced to divulge the truth.

"Just tell us, Izzy," Clary insisted once Jace had shut up with his stupid asshole remarks. "We won't judge-" she shot a withering look at Jace-"right, Jace?"

Jace shrugged. "Whatever you say babycakes." Clary's eyes widened at the name and her mouth fell open. Ignoring her shock, the blond turned to Isabelle with a bright smile. "So Iz, are you going to tell us or am I going to have to go hoking around in Alec's room to find evidence?"

"You're a real asshole sometimes, you know that right?" Isabelle said acidly. He shrugged again. "Fine, I'll tell you. But just don't go around talking about it because it isn't my secret to tell and Alec would kill me if I told you any more than you already know."

"Which is . . . ?"

"Our mom was a mermaid. Our dad was a shadowhunter. They made Alec. Alec is like our mom. They made me. I am like my dad. There, nice and simple." Watching both Clary and Jace's expression's carefully, she sighed when she realized neither one of them had a clue what she was talking about. "What we think we know about mermaids, is wrong. All of it. We were raised on lies."

"Lies?" Jace asked slowly.

"Lies," Isabelle confirmed. "Sure, they started out as mystical female sirens who lived only in water, luring young sailors to their demise but when seas began to meander into rivers and rivers gave way to land and land became the breeding ground for civilisation, they had to evolve and develop to adjust to the new world. Males began to appear from the other side of the world and they breeded, using human genes to become part mundane."

"How does that even work?" Clary asked.

Isabelle shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not into mermaid politics. Whoever's decision it was to start breeding with male mermaids with mundane genes must have had some complicated plan in mind because I can't even think of how it works."

Jace opened his mouth to suggest how it might have worked.

"Don't even," Clary warned him. He shrugged and made a show of zipping his lips, locking it and throwing away the key. "So what happened . . . after they breeded with mun-_human_ genes?"

Isabelle bit her lip, her eyes zoning in on her whip, which was coiled up on her bedpost. "People like my mom were born."

"People like your mom?"

"Our mom," Isabelle rephrased.

"Aren't people like your mom just ordinary shadowhunters?"

"Nah-ah," Izzy shook her head, black hair swishing around her shoulders. "When the first mermaid-mundane-downworlder was born, they were born with legs. Like a normal human. But if they ever-and I mean _ever_-get wet, they turn into the original form of a mermaid. You know, tail, gills, webbed hands, the works."

"And that was your mother then?"

Isabelle nodded.

"Are you trying to say Maryse is a _mermaid_?!" Jace exclaimed.

"Aren't you supposed to be zipped?" Isabelle asked dryly, not appreciating the exclamation riddled with awe, as if her mother was an alien from outer space who visited Earth on the mothership. Even after having never known her mother properly, Isabelle still felt defensive towards her, even though she had ditched herself and Alec at young ages. Jace had only ever met Maryse once, and he was nearly the same age as Isabelle, Alec being the slightest bit older.

"Skeleton key," Jace replied, as if it was obvious.

"Clever," she replied. Jace wasn't the only one who used sarcasm as a weapon. "Yes, mom was a mermaid, and I suppose the reproductive cycle of the mer-folk became so adapted that it didn't matter who they mated with any more, there would still be a half a chance of their children being downworlder."

"And that's what happened Alec?" Clary said, her eyes squinted as she took a wild guess.

"Uh-huh. And then that half a chance worn out and I was born . . ." Isabelle struggled to find the word.

"Normal?" Jace suggested.

Clary looked horrified. "Are you trying to say that all of the downworlders are _abnormal?_" she said. "If there's anyone abnormal around here, it's the shadowhunters. At least the downworlders aren't specially trained assasians. They go on with their daily life without a care in the world, they have a purpose that doesn't involve murder. I think you'll find, you guys are the abnormal."

"But does that mean Alec is normal or abnormal?" Jace challenged with a smirk. "Because he's both."

Before Clary could answer, Isabelle cut in. "The mundanes are the normal ones," she said as if obvious. "Hence the name _mundane._"

They sat in silence after that, all three having their own thoughts to occupy their minds. Isabelle sat, fiddling with a loose thread on her duvet, letting what she had told them sink in. She hoped dearly that Alec wouldn't kill her too painfully when he found out that she told them everything. All the stuff she had learnt about the mer-folk hadn't come from him either way because once she'd found out what he was, she'd done a bunch of research on her own, discovering everything she needed to know while Alec just bought more hand sanitizers and the chemically modified dry shampoo that could be used hygienically that Hodge invented before he died.

"How do mer-folk mate?" Jace asked out of the blue.

_"Jace!"_ Clary exclaimed in horror.

"What? I don't mean in _that_ way, duh. I meant that I'd read somewhere that they don't just have one night stands, they mate for life with their other halves. I was just wondering how that worked," Jace said indignantly, defending himself and proving that he didn't have a mind that spent 80% of it's time in the gutter.

"Ribbon," answered Isabelle.

Jace and Clary's faces froze into that of complete confusion. "What?" they asked at the same time.

"Ribbon," Isabelle repeated. "When mer-folk find their other half, they're bounded by the wrists with ribbon. The ribbon keeps them forever connected, forever together. Sharing emotions and such. It's pretty sweet, when you think about it. God help them if the ribbon snaps though."

Clary placed a hand on her chest and sighed. "That's beautiful," she said.

"Yeah," Isabelle replied with a shrug. "I suppose it is."

"What I had last heard of the mer-folk, they were an extinct race," Jace put forward. "If so, would that make Alec and Maryse like . . . _rare._ Wouldn't there be people out there looking for them? Wouldn't it be the same as seeing a dodo in Manhatten? People would want in on it, very likely capturing the bird and selling it for millions."

Isabelle closed her eyes and breathed out shakily, her hands tightening on the bed covers. Clary placed a concerned hand on her shoulder. "Hey Iz, are you okay?" she asked.

Isabelle shook her head. "Yeah," she said. She opened her eyes and blinked back tears as she looked at Jace. "You're right. There are people out there who want Alec. Mum's safe. People are a lot more accepting back in Idris because there aren't any greedy downworlders lurking around corners."

"What would they do with a mermaid though?" Clary asked.

"Clary a mermaid's tail alone is worth more than a hundred million," Isabelle said. "Even if the mermaid herself is dead. Now imagine the worth of a live mer-folk, in perfect health. That's Alec. That's why we've been keeping it a secret. And that's why I'm scared because someone took a photo that night in the alley. We don't know who it was or what they wanted but they saw Alec in his true form."

"What does this mean then?" Clary frowned. She turned to Jace. "What do we do?!"

Jace shrugged. "I don't know," he said. He quirked an quizzical eyebrow at Isabelle. "Where is he now?"

"With Magnus Bane," Isabelle answered.

Clary's eyes widened. "How can we trust Magnus?!" she exclaimed. "What if he's going to sell Alec?!"

Isabelle shook her head solemnly. "No, we can trust Magnus," she said.

"How do you know?!"

Isabelle wasn't sure how to answer. All she knew was that Magnus Bane was not going to hurt her brother. She didn't know what it was about the old warlock that told her this but there was something deep in her gut that knew Magnus' intentions were not to sell her brother off to some carnival who would exploit his aqua qualities. No. Magnus was not interested in her brother in that way.

Magnus wanted something else.

Something deeper.

Something Isabelle wished her brother would give for once.

His affection, his trust, his passion, his needs.

Magnus wanted a relationship with Alec.

And if this was true, Isabelle gave the warlock her blessing.

**A/N: Sorry it's short :/**

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